Five Nights at Freddy's
by Luvinmypoppingcorn
Summary: Freddy Fazbear's Pizza used to be a great place for children to eat and play, but ever since the murder of a child, the disappearance of five, and the Bite of '87, the place hasn't quite been the same. It's up to Mike, Jeremy, and a new employee to save the tanking restaurant (as well as their jobs) before its too late.
1. Prologue

"Mikey, dear, remember not to-"

"I know, mom!" chirped a small boy, garbed in pirate attire. He wore a red bandanna, a black eyepatch, and a plastic hook covered his left hand. His front two teeth were missing. "Don't talk to anyone I don't know!"

The mother bit her bottom lip, though sighed and nodded. She had nothing to fear; her son was in good hands. Freddy Fazbear's Pizza wasn't at all that bad an establishment, however… She shook her head and smiled.

"I love you, dear!" she called from the car, waving good-bye to her son. "I'll pick you up from the party when it's done, okay?"

Mikey didn't reply; he was already at the front doors. Inside, music filled the room, and the savory, enticing smell of pizza wafted through the air. Children screamed and played, parents sat imperviously in the chairs that could hardly be comfortable for a person so matured and large, and a single employee struggled through a mob of ravenous children, trying to deliver an appetizing tray of a large pepperoni pizza. In the distance, he could see exactly what he had come for: the animatronics.

"Hey-hey-hey there kiddos! Welcome to Freddy-Freddy Fazb-bear's Pizza!" Freddy cheered inspiredly into his microphone. Upon his head was a black tophat, and around his neck was its matching bowtie. He was a large brown bear, and though he moved so mechanically, the children swarmed at the Stage to see him. "Say hello, Bonnie and Chi-Chica!"

"Hey kids! We-we-we-we're gonna' have a rockin'-rockin'-rockin' time together!" Bonnie greeted, waving happily to the crowd. He wore a red bowtie and held in his hand a yellow V guitar. He was a towering purple rabbit, Freddy's right-hand man.

"Hi guys! We're going to play lots of f-f-fun-fun games together! But first, let's eat!" Chica chirped jovially, clapping her hands together. Around her neck was a white bib with confetti imaged onto it and text that read "Let's Eat!", her famous catch-phrase. She was a tall yellow chick, often Freddy's singing counterpart.

"And also; Oh, where is he?" Freddy looked around in confusion. Mikey held his breath. "We'd better call him out! Come-come on-on-on kids!" Mikey rushed to the stage, placing his hands on the edge, his eyes shining brightly, standing on his tiptoes. "Ready kids? Okay! Let's call him out! Foxy!" Freddy called out, turning to face offstage. Mikey shouted louder than any of the children, jumping excitedly up and down. "Foxy! Come on out!" Freddy continued, the children shouting louder, though were nearly drowned out by Mikey. "One more time everyone! A little-little-little loud-louder! Foxy!" Freddy called, Mikey straining his voice as loud as it could get.

"Ahoy, mateys!" called the disembodied voice. It was soon met by its owner, a large red fox with tattered, brown linen pants, a black eye patch, and a hooked left hand. "It makes me proud to see so many smiling face-face-faces here today! If any of yeh' wish to be havin' an adven-ven-venture and endless treasures, come and see me at the Pirate's-Pirate's Cove!" and with that, the animatronic fox was, again, off stage.

Mikey stood in awe, his eyes wide and glowing with joy. Freddy and the gang started singing a song that near most of the children knew by heart, but Foxy was trotting off to the Pirate's Cove, the area where you could play mini-games and climb around in tubes and in a ball pit, and trade in all of your hard earned tickets for fun toys that you would only keep for the day before losing and forgetting about it. That's where you would expect the kids to be, but they were far too enticed by the allure of pizza and songs to pay the area any attention; the only "children" that could be found in Pirate's Cove were teenagers, none of which interacted with Foxy even in the slightest.

The employee who had previously been swarmed by the mass of squirming children now entered the room holding a large cake, clutching it preciously in his hands, and children who belonged to the party and those that did not gathered around the table. Even Freddy and the gang stopped what they were doing to go to the table and congratulate the tyke. Mikey went to the Pirate's Cove.

The present teenagers gave him little to no acknowledgment, not that Mikey really cared. He was there to see Foxy. He walked past them and the employee present at the ticket exchange window. As he got closer, he could see the tall fox standing alone on his personal stage, looking longingly into the party room.

"Hi, Foxy!" greeted Mikey shyly, standing a distance away from Foxy.

"Eh?" he glanced around confusedly, his eyepatch flipped up to reveal both of his glowing yellow eyes. They settled upon the young boy and softened considerably. "Well hello there, Mikey! I haven't-n't-n't seen yeh' in a whi-whi-while! What brings yeh' to the Pirate's Cove today?"

"I tricked my mom into letting me come to see you!" Mikey replied, fiddling with the hook on his hand.

"Yar! That be so?" Foxy laughed heartily, staring gleefully at the small child. "Just for-for me!"

Mikey nodded, beaming happily.

"That means we get to play together for a long time!" Mikey exclaimed, clapping joyously.

"Well, I guess we'd bet-bet-better get started the-then laddy!" Foxy barked in his famously gruff voice. With his good hand, he lifted Mikey onto his shoulders and began to run around with the squealing little boy. The teenagers glanced up in annoyance, frowning at the distracting noise the two were making. Even the sleeping employee who was manning the ticket exchange looked up only to shake his head as a smile etched its way onto his face. The two ran about the Pirate's Cove, playing all sorts of foolish games; Foxy didn't seem to care, however. He was enjoying the small boy's company, and Mikey loved the animatronic's attention. They used Chica's coloring worksheets that she had so graciously provided to play Tic-Tac-Toe, solve crosswords, and all sorts of other childish games the paper provided. Upon blank sheets, Mikey drew pictures while Foxy was again summoned to the stage to advertise his Cove.

"Foxy, I drew you this!" Mikey greeted ecstatically as the fox returned. He handed him the sheet with the scribbly mess on it.

"Ay! For me..?" he questioned, his eyepatch lifting so he could view it with both eyes. From the hands of a small child, it was extremely difficult to make out what the picture really was, but with the colors present, he could identify himself and Mikey. In horrid handwriting above, it read "You are my hero."

Foxy smiled and his ears lowered.

"Thank y-you," he said in voice barely above a whisper.

"Come on, Foxy! Let's play something else!" Mikey urged happily, grabbing and dragging the animatronic by the hand.

"All righ-righ-right, Mikey! Calm down," Foxy chuckled. He misplaced his foot and slid across the floor, falling upon his back. A loud clang was heard as his head banged against the floor, a few screws skidding in various directions.

"Foxy!" Mikey cried, clasping his hands to his mouth as he went over to his friend. "Are you okay?"

Foxy didn't move, though a loud whirr emanated from him. He shakily lifted himself up with his good hand.

"I-I-I'm… errr… Fine!" he replied, his voice badly distorted. His head shook and his eyes flicked. "Errr…" He stepped clumsily around, shaking horrifically. He growled loudly, and attempted to speak, but nothing illegible escaped him.

Afar, the ticket exchange employee had picked up and dialed a number.

"Hey, can we get tech up here? Foxy just had a pretty nasty spill and he's not acting right. Could you get Freddy to lead him back to his stage?" the employee continued to chat before turning his attention to Mikey. "Hey! Kid! Could you please get away from Foxy? He needs to get a, uh, quick check up!"

But Mikey was following after his beloved friend, not giving any attention to the employee.

"Hello, Foxy!" Freddy greeted, smiling widely at his partner as he carried out his new instructions. "You're not looking too good, are you alright?" he asked, taking the glitching fox by the arm. He got no reply, just the quick, intermittent spazzing gestures of Foxy's head, followed by the growling and whirring that made no sense. "Let's get-get-get you back to the Cove!"

"Foxy! What's wrong?" Mikey asked, whimpering as he followed Freddy and Foxy.

"Sorry there, friend! Foxy can't see anyone right-" Freddy started before Foxy wriggled free, snarling madly as his arms swung. He barked loudly. His mouth opened wide.

Mikey stepped back.

"Foxy!" Freddy shouted, grabbing onto Foxy.

There was screaming.

The employee frantically dialed a number.

"Get an ambulance here now! Foxy just bit a kid's head off!"


	2. Night 1

Mr. Schmidt sat alone in his office, swiveling in his ergonomic chair. He held in his hands an unwieldy monitor. Upon his head was what he considered to be a ridiculous hat; a blue cap with bear ears on the sides and text that read "Security Guard". He glanced around the room, his blue eyes dull with boredom.

The room was small with only two doors; each had a window that allowed him visibility to what was outside his office, and a light to actually let him _see _out of his office. There were some nonfunctional security screens, which would probably be removed at some unforeseen time in the future; they had been replaced by the monitor Mr. Schmidt currently held in his hands. Beside them was a small portable fan and his soda from the restaurant. On the walls were numerous pictures that children had drawn for past security guards and a poster showing the three mascots: Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie.

Maybe one day he would have a picture from a child.

The phone rang, but required no answering.

"Hello?" spoke the voice. "I, uh, wanted to record a message for you, just to get you settled in on your first night. I'm, uh, actually finishing up my last week right now," the voice chuckled lightly. "I, uh, know it can be a little overwhelming, but don't worry! I'm sure you'll do just fine!"

Mr. Schmidt opened and closed the left door and flickered the lights a bit.

"First thing is the introductory company greeting…" the voice started. Paper could be heard shuffling in the background. "Uh… Here it is… _Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. A magical place for kids and grownups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovering that damage or death has occurred, a missing person report will be filed within 90 days, or as soon property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached, and the carpets have been replaced."_

Mr. Schmidt stifled an outburst of laughter. What had he gotten himself into?

"Listen, I know it sounds pretty bad, but come on. Do I blame the animatronics? No!" the voice laughed again. "No, no I… I don't. If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for twenty years _and _I never got a bath, I would be pretty upset at night too," he continued "But hey, these animatronics have a special place in the hearts of children, so give them some respect, alright?"

"But, yeah… Onto more _pressing _matters. The animatronics do tend to wander around at night. The company leaves them on a 'free roaming mode' at night so their servos doesn't lock up or something. It happens when they're turned off for too long," the voice explained.

Mr. Schmidt looked up, quirking his eyebrow in confusion. He checked his monitor. All three of them were still on stage, and they didn't appear to have moved at all. What was this guy talking about?

"They used to be able to walk around during the day, too," the voice continued, drawing Mr. Schmidt back to the phone. "Then there was the 'Bite of '87'... It's amazing how the human body can live without the frontal lobe, huh?" the voice chuckled.

Mr. Schmidt rolled his eyes and leaned into his chair, continuing to mess with the left door by opening and closing it, flicking the lights on and off. He checked his monitor again.

Bonnie was missing.

Mr. Schmidt's face paled before he sunk into his chair, checking the left hallway.

"Oh, God!" he shouted, nearly jumping out of the chair. Bonnie's grinning face was at the door. He quickly shut it, though Bonnie's shadow flickered against the back wall, visible through the window as the light shone on him.

"Now, the only _real _risk to your safety," the voice started again, drawing Mr. Schmidt's panicked attention, "Is that if the characters just so happen to see you, they'll most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume, rather than as a, uh, living breathing person. Being outside your costume is against the rules, so, heh, they'll try to forcefully shove you into one, if they get the chance. That wouldn't be so bad, if, uh, the suits themselves weren't filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices, _especially_ around the facial area, so you could imagine how having your head forcefully shoved into one might cause some mild discomfort… and death… Uh, yeah… The only parts that would make it to see the lights of day again would be your eyes and teeth once they, uh, pop out the front of the mask."

Mr. Schmidt stared at the window. Bonnie's shadow had disappeared. He opened the door and turned the light off.

"This is the stuff they don't tell you when you sign up, but hey! First night should be a breeze! Just remember to check your cameras and close the doors only if _absolutely necessary_! Gotta save power! Talk to you tomorrow," the voice concluded. "Oh, and one more thing. Should they ever get into the generator and turn the power off early, you could try and go start it up again yourself, but I would just wait it out until 6' when your shift ends. Anyways, talk to you later!"

Mr. Schmidt checked the clock. It was only 2 AM. He had five hours left until his shift ended, though the phone guy had said the first night _should_ be a breeze, right? After all, only Bonnie had decided to wander away from the stage.

He checked the cameras again. Freddy was the only one left on the Show Stage, and he seemed to be staring into the camera. Flicking to another camera, the kitchen, there was no image, but loud clanging could be heard; someone must be in there. After looking through most of the other cameras, Mr. Schmidt finally found Bonnie backstage.

"Hello," Bonnie greeted, staring into the camera, his voice void of any emotion. "I noticed you were-were-were, how do I put this? 'Nude'?" he lifted up a Freddy mask and a Chica mask. "Who would you pre-pre-prefer-" he started before Mr. Schmidt turned the monitor away.

Chica was peering through the window at the right, munching loudly on what Mr. Schmidt assumed were discarded crusts from the garbage. He closed the door. She pouted slightly, but continued to eat her pizza crusts.

"You're out of uniform," she stated, banging on the glass.

"Hey!"

It was Bonnie again.

"I hope you kn-kn-kn-kn-know how rude that was to just _look away_ from me!" he fumed. Mr. Schmidt closed the door, and Bonnie was heartily banging away at it.

This was going to be a long week.


	3. Night 2

"If you're hearing this, then you've made it to night two, so, uh, congrats!" the phone guy started.

Mr. Schmidt was in his office, treating himself to some of the restaurant's leftovers. He sipped nervously from his soda, hand shaking madly as he did so. He flicked the left and right lights, though Bonnie and Chica were absent. Checking the camera, he found that they were still presently on the stage, accompanied by Freddy. All three seemed to be staring intently into the camera, as if they could see through it and see how terrified Mr. Schmidt was.

They were in the room.

_It's me._

They were not in the room. He was alone. Mr. Schmidt shook his head and placed his face in his hands, sweat dripping.

"I won't talk quite as long since they tend to get more active throughout the week. In fact, it wouldn't be that, uh, bad of an idea to check the cameras, now that I think about it. Make sure everyone is where they need to be…"

Mr. Schmidt checked the cameras. Bonnie and Chica were missing, and Freddy hadn't budged an inch.

"Freddy doesn't usually come off stage, but he's a lot more active in the dark, so… D-don't forget to conserve your power! But also don't forget to use your lights… Your cameras _do _have some blindspots. I should also mention checking Pirate's Cove from time to time; the character in there doesn't like being watched or something, but if you don't check in on him every once in a while he'll come out… You know what, I'm sure you've got everything under control! I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Mr. Schmidt checked the cameras. Freddy was on the Show Stage, Chica was obviously rummaging through the kitchen again, and Bonnie was no where to be found. Flicking the left light on, Bonnie was seen standing in the doorway; he closed the door.

"You're overre-re-reacting! Just open the d-d-d-d-door!" Bonnie called from the other side, banging the door again.

"We have a dress-code here!"

It was Chica.

He closed the right door.

He checked the cameras again, flicking to the Pirate's Cove.

_It's me._

The purple star patterned curtains were drawn, ever so slightly. Within, only a single glowing yellow eye could be seen, though it was soon covered up again by the curtain. He made a mental note to check on the character again.

Chica had fled to another area of the restaurant, though Bonnie was still trying to persuade Mr. Schmidt to open the door and get into a costume.

"C-c-come on! I don't know how you c-c-can stand being without one! You'll start to rust up!" he pleaded.

Mr. Schmidt sipped from his soda and checked the time. It was 4 AM. Three more hours until his shift would end. He could make it until then… He had, what, 48% power? There was silence.

"Who are you, anyways? I don't remember any other-o-o-others, aside from Foxy, but he doesn't come out anymore. Unless… Foxy..?" Bonnie questioned.

"No. I'm not Foxy," Mr. Schmidt replied hesitantly.

"Then who are you?" Bonnie continued to probe, peering through the window.

Mr. Schmidt remained silent, grabbing a few fries, which by now had grown rather cold, and munched half-heartedly on them. It felt odd conversing with a robot, especially one that wanted to unintentionally kill him. Or, he hoped it was unintentional.

Bonnie left, but was replaced by Chica.

"Why don't you wa-wa-want a costume? Don't you feel weird?" she asked, her attention fixed on Mr. Schmidt's fries.

"Leave me alone, duck," he replied, crossing his arms at her.

"Duck?" she retorted, frowning. "Duck?" she shouted. "I am _Chica_ the _Chicken! _I am _not _a _duck!_ How dare you! How-w-w dare y-y-y-you! I am a chicken!" she whimpered. "You're m-m-mean!"

Mr. Schmidt ignored her. Something else had caught his attention. There was laughter coming from the kitchen. He checked the monitor, though as usual, there was no image. The audio, however, revealed the notable laughter of Freddy. The Show Stage was empty.

It was 5 AM. There was 25% power left. With Bonnie absent, he decided to open the left door. Chica soon harrumphed away and he was able to open the right door as well. Freddy was still laughing away in the kitchen it seemed.

Mr. Schmidt checked Pirate's Cove again. The curtains were drawn completely, and there was no one present. He paled and switched to the camera in the West Hallway; there was a flash of something, and wailing resounded through the building. Swift footsteps rang down the hall to the office where Mr. Schmidt closed the door.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" shouted a voice, the fists and screeching metal heard banging against the closed door.

The lights flickered and the fan stopped. It got dark. The doors opened. Chica was at the right. Bonnie was at the left, while behind him were a pair of vicious glowing eyes. Before him was Freddy, grinning as he hummed his classic tune the "Toreador March", his face illuminating the near pitch-black room.

The clock changed to 6 AM.

The lights returned.

The animatronics stood and walked out of the room.

Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica returned to the Show Stage.

Foxy hobbled back to his curtains and drew them closed.

Mr. Schmidt recalled how to breathe.


	4. Night 3

"Hello? Hey! You're doing great! Most don't last this long! I'm not implying that they died, no, not in anyway. They just… Uh… Moved onto… _Other_ things. I'll try not to take up much time; tonight is when things get serious. But, hey! I thought of something! Maybe if you play dead, they'll think you're an empty suit!" there was a brief silence from the phone guy before he sighed. "No, then maybe they'd try and stuff an endoskeleton into _you. _I wonder how that would work out… Yeah, no, don't do that. Just don't get caught. I'll, uh… I guess I'll see you on the flip side then."

_**12 PM**_

Mr. Schmidt yawned.

He hadn't gone home since his shift had ended. He was studying them. Of course, there was nothing to really study… They sang and they talked, but they never moved. There weren't many children at the restaurant, and with the Pirate's Cove closed off, not even teenagers were present. It was a major blow to the childhood to see the place in the condition it was; all the rumors and such that talked about what a disgusting, filthy, and unsafe a place it was… He had refused to believe it, but seeing it himself, there was no denying that it was all true.

He stared at Freddy, sipping from his large soda.

He walked up to the stage.

"Hi," he said, watching as the bear literally ignored him. He frowned and approached Bonnie instead.

"How about you? Do you want to talk?" He asked, scowling at the rabbit. Bonnie began playing his guitar.

"Or you, Chica? Do you want some _fresh_ pizza crusts..?" he taunted, placing his hands on his hips. She sang with Freddy.

They obviously weren't going to open up to him. Or perhaps it wasn't that they didn't want to, it may be that they just _couldn't_.

_It's me._

He approached Pirate's Cove. He glanced warily for children who may be following him before he slipped behind the curtains.

Foxy stood alone, his mouth agape as he stared endlessly into the ground. His jaw was missing a bolt, forcing his mouth to remain open. His entire right hand was exposed to the metal, as well as both calves of his legs. His torso was ripped in some areas, exposing parts of his endoskeleton and his eye which was not covered by the eyepatch had a drooping upper eyelid.

"Do _you _want to talk, Foxy?" Mr. Schmidt asked, walking past him into the abandoned Cove. He glanced back, thinking he had heard something… No… He was mistaken.

_It's me._

There were cobwebs everywhere. The place hadn't been touched in years. In 6 years, to be precise. There was a large bloodstain on the ground, but as the rest of the room, it was considerably aged and now just a part of the room. In the corner was a… A yellow Freddy costume?

He rubbed his eyes and sweat dripped.

_IT'S ME. IT'S ME. IT'S ME IT'S ME._

"Why won't these hallucinations stop?" he cried, falling to the floor as he grabbed his knees.

There was a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up.

It was the yellow Freddy. It spoke to him. He couldn't understand.

It disappeared.

Where it once stood was a newspaper article.

_**Kids vanish at local pizzeria - bodies not found.**_

_Two local children were reportedly lured into a back room during the late hours of operation at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza on the night of June 26th. While video surveillance identified the man responsible and led to his capture the following morning, the children themselves were never found and are presumed dead._

_Police think that the suspect dressed as a mascot to earn the children's trust._

He collected the article and stuffed it into his pocket. He walked past Foxy before stopping, glancing at the animatronic. It hadn't moved.

In an instant, it grabbed his shoulder with a bone crushing grip and his eyepatch flipped up and he wailed.

**12 AM**

Mr. Schmidt woke up, panting in his chair, soaked in a cold sweat right through his shirt. It was just a nightmare. He was fine. He sighed, shaking aggressively as he tried to sip from his drink, choking on it slightly before dropping it on the ground.

He checked his monitor. Chica had left the stage and was rummaging through the kitchen. Freddy and Bonnie were on stage, but oddly they weren't still; they were playing a circus-like tune, one of which he had not heard them play before. Foxy hadn't appeared yet.

He lowered the monitor and sighed loudly. He put his hands into his pockets. He felt the article.

What was reality like?

He unwrinkled the paper as best he could before placing it under a sheet of paper on his clipboard.

Chica was at the door, which Mr. Schmidt hurriedly closed.

"I think I saw you today," she said, pressing her hands to the glass. "I can't remember."

He didn't reply, too preoccupied with closing the left door, Bonnie suddenly present.

"I think I saw you too," he joined, staring through the window.

"Bonnie! Hi!" Chica chirped happily, waving to her band member. "I knew I had seen him today!"

"Hello, Chi-Chi-Chica," Bonnie returned, blinking fondly towards her. "I wonder why they didn't put him into a suit while they we-we-were here."

"They must've made a mistake and not noticed," Chica theorized with a shrug.

_IT'S ME IT'S ME IT'S ME IT'S ME IT'S ME._

"Oh my God!" Mr. Schmidt shouted, throwing the phone at one of the old monitors, breaking the glass in the process.

Chica and Bonnie were gone.

He opened the doors and started to cry.

Why was this happening? Why did he keep coming to this stupid job, knowing that he could die? That it was killing him just to go?

He checked the monitor. Foxy was peeking out from behind the curtain, though Freddy had yet to move. Bonnie was backstage, sorting through the costumes, debating which one would best suit Mr. Schmidt.

"Sometimes I wish I looked thi-thi-thi-this nice," he commented solemnly, his eyelids lowered as he showed the Bonnie head to the camera. "I can't remem-mem-member the last time I looked like that."

He lowered the monitor, seeing Chica at the window again. He closed the door.

She did not speak, though her mouth fell open and she stared. She did not move.

Mr. Schmidt checked the time. It was 3 AM. There was 54% power.

"What do you know about the murders, Chica?" he found his mouth speaking for himself.

Chica cocked her head to the side.

"Murders?" she asked in confusion.

"The murders? The kids were never found?" he probed.

"Open the door and I'll tell you," she replied flatly.

He frowned, knowing that she probably didn't know what he was talking about.

Freddy's laughter emanated from the kitchen, and Bonnie reappeared at the left door as Chica stalked off elsewhere. The right was opened and the left was closed.

"What about you Bonnie? What do you know about the murders of those kids?" Mr. Schmidt asked, the rabbit's shadow visible through the window.

There was only groaning, like that of a wounded animal.

"Bonnie?"

"What murders?" Bonnie replied before he disappeared.

The door was opened.

Mr. Schmidt checked the monitor. Freddy was presumably in the kitchen, conversing with Chica, though their conversation was far too quiet to be heard. Foxy was out of his enclosure, staring into the camera. He appeared to notice that it had become active and his eyepatch flipped up. He darted towards the office.

The left door was closed.

Loud banging and shouting ensued.

"LEAVE N-N-NOW-NOW! YEH' DON'T BELONG HE-HE-HERE!" Foxy screeched.

"Foxy!" Mr. Schmidt shouted back.

There was silence.

"Foxy, what do you know-"

"I don't know anything," he seethed bitterly, his voice distorted and crackling. "Let me in."

"No."

Foxy went back to Pirate's Cove.


	5. Night 4

"Hey, hey, yeah, hi… Night four! I knew you could do it… Uh… I may not be here tomorrow to send you a message" the phone guy started before there was loud banging on the door. "Oh, God...It's-It's been a… a pretty bad night for me… I'm glad I recorded those messages for you…" he cleared his throat. "When I, uh, when I did…"

"Do you think you could do me a favor?" he started, interrupted by more banging. "Maybe sometime have someone check one of the suits in the back..?" There was more banging on the door, followed by distant groaning. "I'm gonna' see how long I can hold out… Until someone checks… Oh geez… Maybe it won't be so bad..?" he chuckled lightly before groaning, the banging growing louder. "I-I-I-I always… Wond-wondered… What it would be li-like… In one of those suits, ha ha… Oh, no…" The Toreador March resounded throughout the message; there was a loud wailing at the end. Then static.

Silence.

**1987**

The restaurant was closed until further notice.

"Freddy…" Chica whispered.

Freddy looked towards her.

"I don't-d-d-don't feel well…"she murmured. She wiped blood from her eye.

"Me… Neither…" Bonnie joined, standing rigid. "I feel… Dirty…"

"We'll be fine," Freddy reassured them, blinking happily at each of them. "It'll pass, I promise."

"Freddy," Chica urged, glancing to the side.

Freddy frowned.

"What's going to happ-happ-happen to Foxy? I heard the p-p-p-people talking… That little boy…" she started before sighing. "It's been a month since I've seen him… Foxy, I mean..."

"Foxy will be fine," Freddy replied.

"I want to ch-che-ch-check on him," Chica continued, her eyes downcast.

"No one is stopping you," Freddy sighed, approving her decision.

Chica walked off stage and headed towards Pirate's Cove. She drew the curtains. Foxy sat in a corner, unmoving. His ears were lowered.

"Foxy, do you want to talk?" she asked quietly, stepping inside.

He didn't move.

"Foxy?" she continued, resting a hand on his shoulder. He twitched before standing and facing her.

His jaw hung loose and his eyelid drooped. He was tattered and dirty, obviously neglected by the people.

"It was an acc-acc-accident-accident…" he mumbled, his voice hoarse and distorted.

"I thought they were going to fix you!" Chica exclaimed, holding her hands to her mouth.

"They're discontinuin' me…" he sighed.

"Oh, no…"

"I fell… I… _bit_ him… _Hurt_ him… _Killed_ him..." he whimpered, turning away from her. "They don't want to show-show-show me anymore… They're gonna' replace me… I scare people…" he clenched his fist. "I overheard them talkin'… They're replacin' yeh' all too."

"Foxy, no!" Chica protested, blood oozing from her eyes. "They can't!"

"I'm sorry…" he sat in the corner again. "Its all me' fault…"

**12 AM**

_It was Pirate's Cove. He didn't remember coming here. Foxy stared but said nothing. He was following the yellow Freddy… the golden Freddy… The one with the answers. The bloodstain whispered, but he didn't need to listen to it; he knew what it wanted. What he didn't know was why this "Golden Freddy" was bringing him into this story from so long ago._

_It spoke_

_**IT'S ME. IT'S ME. IT'S ME. IT'S ME. IT'S ME. IT'S ME.**_

_He didn't understand what it was saying._

_It wailed at him. It left another article._

_**Five children now reported missing. Suspect convicted.**_

_Five children are now linked to the incident at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, where a man dressed as a cartoon mascot lured them into a back room._

_While the suspect has been charged, the bodies themselves were never found._

_Freddy Fazbear's Pizza has been fighting an uphill battle ever since to convince families to return to the pizzeria._

"_It's a tragedy."_

Mr. Schmidt awoke again in his chair, sweating heavily. It wasn't safe to be sleeping during work. The phone guy was gone; never again would his nervous laughter and awkward talking fill the office. He would be missed, but there would be no mourning if Mr. Schmidt didn't make it through the night.

It was 12 AM. The power went out.

Freddy laughed somewhere in the distance.

Mr. Schmidt grabbed a flashlight from his belt, hesitantly flicking it on; it was a red light, providing visibility, though it was not that noticeable. He took a breath before stepping out of the office through the left door. Bonnie was approaching from the dining area; he quickly hid in the supply closet. Bonnie's head twitched and convulsed, and the groaning noise erupted from him. As he entered the office, Mr. Schmidt hurriedly snuck by and entered the dining area. To his relief, it was empty, and Foxy had yet to appear from behind the curtains. He entered the backstage, and immediately he slipped and soaked his pants in an unidentifiable fluid; he didn't want to think about it. He approached a door that led to a set of stairs leading down under the restaurant. Freddy laughed from above. Mr. Schmidt rekindled the power and walked back up the stairs.

_**IT'S ME.**_

He rocked to the side. Bonnie was visualized before him, groaning and twitching like a crushed bug.

_**IT'S ME. IT'S ME.**_

Freddy's black, soulless eyes stared into him.

And grabbed him.

He didn't try to escape. He stared back into Freddy's eyes. Something was there.

_Save them._

"I can't," Mr. Schmidt replied as he was sat on a table. Freddy pulled out a suit of himself and nodded, blinking. He laughed an innocent girl's laugh.

It was 6 AM.


	6. Night 5

**9 PM**

Mr. Schmidt started his shift early. The animatronics were not engaged in "free roam", but were not active, most likely in a stand-by mode. In one hand was a tool box, while the other held a bag of cleaning supplies. He approached Chica first.

He began to wash her. He replaced the bib with a cleaner one from backstage and brushed her mangled, dirty fur. The cleaner brightened her yellow color considerably. He polished her magenta eyes so that they sparkled in the stage lights. He opened her hand and placed a bag of fresh popcorn in it.

He began to clean off Bonnie, brushing and washing his purple fur. He removed his bowtie and replaced it with the only nice one he could find backstage, one he found on a Freddy suit. He polished his eyes as well, and even fixed up the rabbit's guitar, a faint glow about it once he finished it.

At Freddy, he removed the tophat and bowtie, replacing them with much nicer materials. Freddy was difficult to clean, his fur matted with substances he could only conclude to be fluids of some sort, and much of which he couldn't remove. The bear didn't change much, but he did look slightly better in appearance.

It was 10 PM.

He approached the Pirate's Cove.

Foxy stood inside, gazing thoughtlessly at the ground.

"I hope I brought enough elbow grease with me," he muttered to himself as he got to work.

In his bag were some parts he had picked up from a few unnamed stores, such as fur to cover Foxy's exposed endoskeleton and pieces to repair his jaw. He was constantly wiping sweat from his forehead, glancing at the clock.

11:30 PM.

All that was left was to clean and wash his fur.

_**IT'S ME. IT'S ME. IT'S ME. IT'S ME. IT'S ME. IT'S ME.**_

There was no time.

"I'm sorry, Foxy…" he sighed, stepping away from the animatronic as he headed to his office.

**12 AM**

_Golden Freddy was leading him through Pirate's Cove again. Bonnie and Chica were there, staring mindlessly at him. Blood oozed from their eye sockets, and green fluid spilled from their nostrils. There was nothing more he could do for them right now._

_**Save them.**_

_I can't._

_Golden Freddy spoke to him through the phone. He didn't understand. Golden Freddy wailed at him and left behind another article._

_**Local pizzeria threatened with shutdown over sanitation.**_

_Local pizzeria, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza has been threatened again with shutdown by the health department over reports of foul odor coming from the much-loved animal mascots._

_Police were contacted when parents reportedly noticed what appeared to be blood and mucus around the eyes and mouths of the mascots. One parent alikened them to "reanimated carcasses"._

He awoke again in his chair, clutching in his hand another piece to a growing puzzle. It was placed with the others in his clipboard. It was 1 AM. He flickered the lights, finding Bonnie and Chica both present. He closed the doors. Freddy was laughing in the kitchen. Checking the camera showed Foxy peering out, gazing back at Mr. Schmidt. He put the monitor away and checked the lights. Bonnie was gone, though Chica remained, her head convulsing as groans emanated.

"We don't acc-acc-accept br-bribes," Bonnie's voice called from the monitor. He was in the backstage, his eyes rolled back into his head.

Freddy laughed loudly. Checking the camera showed he was in the hallway with Chica; he checked on Foxy as well, who was now out of his enclosure.

"Don't close the door. Pl-Pl-please let me in," he spoke to the camera.

He ran down the hallway, only to be met with the slamming of the door.

Mr. Schmidt flicked the right light, showing that Freddy and Chica were now gone, allowing him to open the door.

"We don't accept br-br-bri-bribes," Bonnie called again, his shadow reflected by the left light. The camera showed him convulsing madly, and his groans were heard.

Chica was at the right window again, and down went the right door.

Freddy hummed his tune in the kitchen as he laughed.

Bonnie left, though was replaced by Foxy's banging on the door.

"LET ME IN THERE NOW! LET ME IN!" he barked.

It's me.

"Toreador, on guard! Toreador! Toreador! And think well, yes think as you are fighting that a dark eye is watching you, and that love is waiting for you, Toreador, love, love is waiting for you!" sang Freddy in the hallway.

_It's me._

"We don't accept bribes," Bonnie recited monotonously into the camera in the supply closet.

_**IT'S ME.**_

Chica broke the right window, buzzing and whirring loudly as she convulsed, forcing her way into the room.

_**IT'S ME.**_

_It was the restaurant. Full of happy, smiling children. Golden Freddy held a cake in his hands and led a group of five children into the Pirate's Cove. Foxy was not present. The children were happy. Golden Freddy removed his head to reveal a distorted purple figure whom he could not identify. The children screamed. The children died. The imposter took off his suit and stashed it elsewhere. Foxy came to entertain the children._

_The children were dead. They could not be entertained._

_The purple figure smiled._

_A puppet appeared after some time. It stuffed the children into the suits. A brown haired girl for Freddy. A blonde boy for Chica. A ginger girl for Foxy. A black haired boy for Bonnie. The puppet stared at the last child for a moment before laughing happily. It looked at Mr. Schmidt. It grabbed his head and held the Golden Freddy suit._

_Golden Freddy wailed and left an article._

_**Local pizzeria said to close by year's end.**_

_After a long struggle to stay in business after the tragedy that struck there many years ago, Freddy Fazbear's Pizza has announced that it will close by year's end._

_Despite a year-long search for a buyer, companies seem unwilling to be associated with the company._

"_These characters will live on. In the hearts of kids, these characters will live on." - CEO_

He awoke, drowsy and delirious. He felt the article in his hand, but had no idea where he was. He heard frantic, excited whispering. It was dark, and he felt a sharp pain in his forearm; it felt broken.

"What's going on..?" he mumbled, struggling to sit up. He clutched at his arm; it was definitely broke, as he could feel the bone pushing against his skin. It took all his will to avoid crying out in agony.

"You're o-o-on your night shift," replied a familiar voice. It was Freddy.

Mr. Schmidt recoiled in fear, tumbling off of the table on which he was previously laying on.

"Get back!" he shouted, his eyes wide as he trembled and stepped back. Before him stood the four animatronics. "Stay away from me!"

Freddy frowned with dismay and did as he was instructed. He backed away from Mr. Schmidt.

Mr. Schmidt gazed at them with astonishment.

"Why aren't you attacking me?" he asked, backing up against the wall, tripping over a few chairs and party hats.

None of them replied.

"Well?" he urged.

"We don't know," Freddy replied, his gaze unwavering. "They didn't want us to, I suppo-po-pose."

"They?" he questioned, not understanding.

"You've been gathering the articles. Ta-take a w-w-w-w-wild guess," Bonnie huffed.

"The children..?" he stammered.

The four of them nodded.

"So it's true then? The children were… They… Were stuffed… Inside of you?" he asked, moving closer.

"Yes," Chica replied quietly.

"I guess that would explain a lot," he mused, rubbing his arm.

"Sorry about that… I wasn't… Right… When I got a hold of you," Chica apologized, looking away from him.

"We don't mean to hurt anyone. It's just… It's them," Freddy explained, a hint of sadness present in his voice. "This was mea-mea-meant to be a happy place for us to entertain children, and it worked out that way for a while. We've always had a b-b-b-bit of bad luck…"

"But we always m-m-man-managed to come back, and the children never seemed to care that those bad things had happened," Bonnie venture, laughing slightly.

"But then that day happened. The accident," Freddy started.

"The Bite of '87," Mr. Schmidt concluded as he took of his cap.

The animatronics stared in astonishment. Who was once an 18 year-old security guard was now a small boy of 12; a memory from the past. In the blink of an eye, the man with dark circles under his eyes who paled at the sound of Freddy's laughter and sweat like the dickens, was now the energetic boy of 1987 who dressed as a pirate with two missing front teeth and tricked his mother into letting him see his favorite character, Foxy.

"Mikey," Foxy murmured, his scathing voice sharp with remorse.

"I know all about what happened back then," Mikey continued, placing the cap back over his bald, scarred head. "I know all about the kid who was bit by the Foxy the Pirate Fox; the kid who literally lost his mind to the one person- _thing- _that he trusted. His best friend. His hero," he choked out, his eyes welling with tears.

"Mikey, I'm sorry, I very truly am," Foxy pleaded, his face grim with depression. He shook, and his internal devices audibly rattled inside.

Mikey Schmidt raised his hand to silence him.

"'Sorry' does _not_ undo what you did to me," he answered, sniffling slightly. "You took my life away from me…"

"I… Let me explain," Foxy begged, stepping forward, his hand outstretched to him.

"Get away from me," Mikey demanded.

Foxy trembled, though took a step back.

"You all think things are going to go back to the way they used to be. I used to think that too!" Mikey shouted. "But they wont!"

They stared at him.

"They won't…"

Freddy laughed. Chica twitched and groaned, soon accompanied by Bonnie.

Foxy stared, his eyes appearing to burn right through Mikey.

It was 6 AM.


	7. Night 6

**6 AM**

The animatronics had returned to the stage, showing no signs of their previous aggression. They were still; unmoving. Perhaps they were charging, or they were on stand-by again. Whatever the case, it didn't matter. There was no way he was going to last in his position alone; he clutched his broken arm with worry.

Sunlight was beginning to beam through the windows in the dining area, and a door was heard opening in the back, several voices accompanying it. The morning staff had just arrived; how ironic was it that they spent every day around these sadistic characters without an inkling of the danger they were in? How ironic was it that they spent every day around these metal coffins with rotting children inside?

"Mr. Schmidt..?" questioned a voice. It was easily identified as his nameless boss. "Here's your very first paycheck! Good job, sport!" The nameless boss handed him a check for 120 dollars, to a "valued employee". "I'll see you next week, champ!" he said, ruffling Mikey's cap.

Three dollars and forty-three cents an hour.

He was making _below _minimum wage.

He sighed loudly and stuffed the check into his pants pocket; guess this is what happens when you're below the age of twenty in the workforce. Mikey walked back to the office, only to find a startled security guard looking over the broken window.

"How in the hell did this happen?" barked the man.

Mr. Schmidt ignored him, rolling his eyes as he went to collect his things.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, new guy. What happened?" he demanded, blocking Mikey's path.

"Get out of my way, I need to get to the hospital," Mikey returned, clutching his clipboard to his chest. His arm was swollen and purple and in obvious need of getting looked at.

The security guard crossed his arms.

"Please get out of my way?" Mikey reiterated, assuming the man only wanted him to be polite.

"I hope you aren't considering to drive yourself to the hospital?" the man asked, though it didn't entirely sound like a question.

Mikey glanced to the side worriedly.

"Come on," the man huffed, grabbing Mikey by the arm. He was dragged to the man's small vehicle and tossed inside. The car took a while to start up; it wasn't exactly a luxury model, probably considered a mutt if you were to consider using dog terms. There was silence for a majority of the ride.

"I'm Jeremy Fitzgerald, day security guard. I've been working at Freddy's for six years since, well… Your first day, actually," the security guard started, attempting to start a conversation. "I used to have the night shift at our old location, back with the replacement models of the animatronics. You know, with the um… Oh what were they called… I think they were called the 'toy' models or something. Well, whatever they were, they didn't last a week before they were all scrapped. You can't beat the originals, am I right?" he laughed to himself.

Mikey stared dumbfounded at the man.

"You had the night shift?" Mikey asked.

"Oh yeah. I had to watch ten at a time," he sighed, looking uneasy. "Unlike you, I didn't have any doors… They crawled through the air vents, walked through the halls… One even climbed on the ceiling. The only thing I could do was put on one of those masks and hope they didn't look me in the eyes."

"You had the night shift…" Mikey stated, grabbing Jeremy by the arm.

"Yeah, for like five days," Jeremy replied, swatting his hand away. "Hey, could you let go? I'm trying to drive here."

"Start your shift early. Help me out," Mikey pleaded, tugging his arm.

"I can't do that, I already exceeded my maximum on overtime," Jeremy argued, frowning. "I'm not doing night shift again. Those things are crazy."

"Please!"

"No."

"Please! They're trying to kill me," Mikey yelled. "You're just going to let them kill me?"

Jeremy was quiet, looking relatively awkward and uncomfortable. He sighed loudly and smacked the steering wheel.

"I really shouldn't. It's your problem, not mine," he mumbled quietly.

"Jeremy-"

"I can be there at 4 tomorrow. No earlier," he groaned. "I'll loan you my mask for tonight."

**12 AM**

Bonnie was already at the door. Obviously the door was closed, but unlike before, Bonnie was not speaking. He groaned and twitched sporadically, and didn't respond to any of Mikey's conversation starters. What was worse is that he had been at the door for a while, and it was taking up a lot of energy, especially with Chica popping up constantly at the right door; she, of course, was not much better, if at all. If they kept this up he would have to resort to plan B, which was putting on the Freddy mask in hopes to fool the animatronics.

He rubbed at his casted arm and sighed.

Why was he still here? He wasn't even required to work tonight. Something lured him in… Something he couldn't escape from.

Was it the mystery? It couldn't be, as it was already solved; the five kids were murdered and stuffed in the suits, end of story.

Perhaps he was supposed to find out who had killed the children? That couldn't be it either; the article had said they had convicted the man who had done it.

What if it was the children themselves? That could make sense. A child who had lost his or her life, vandalized and put to rest inside of a robotic suit to rot and continue on singing stupid songs for an eternity in a crappy pizza joint with a crappy reputation, the same one in which their murders were associated with. It wasn't a pretty picture… But it was one he related to.

Maybe they want closure.

He checked Pirate's Cove, finding Foxy peering through the curtains.

Maybe he did, too.

He switched to the right hallway's camera and found Freddy standing in the corner, his black eyes filling the entire picture.

_It's me._

Maybe he should let them take out their anger on him.

The power went out and the doors opened.

He quickly put the mask on, shaking madly in his chair. Bonnie and Chica entered the room, snapping their jaws and groaning loudly. They approached the chair. Mikey played dead, growing limp in the chair as they examined him. They faced each other and spoke, though he couldn't understand what was being said. It sounded so familiar… They exited the room.

Mikey finally exhaled, sitting up in the chair as he trembled. He kept the mask on as he left, fearing he might encounter someone on his way to turn the power on. Traversing the left hall, he made his way to the backstage. He froze as he approached Pirate's Cove.

Foxy was outside of the enclosure, staring wistfully into the camera on the wall. He held his breath and paced slowly past him. He could hear the sound of Foxy's head swiveling to monitor him, feel his eyes burning through the mask as if he _knew_ Mikey was an imposter. Foxy did nothing but dart for the office, wailing loudly.

It had worked.

They didn't recognize him.

He was in the backstage area, staring at the opened door that led below. He stepped quietly down the metal stairs, making not a sound as he led himself through in the dark. Of all the nights, why had he forgotten his flashlight _tonight_? He reached a hand out, feeling for the wall- ah, yes, there it was. He felt at the ground, searching for the power coupling that had been unceremoniously unplugged; he found it and quickly hooked both ends together. He let out a loud sigh and began his ascent upstairs.

Bonnie loomed above, glitching and gurgling in illegible speak, as if he were possessed.

"Bonnie, no!" Mikey screamed, darting up the stairs.

He tripped.

His mask fell off and he hit his chin on the metal steps.

Bonnie slammed the door shut.

It was pitch black.

Mikey shook uncontrollably, climbing to the top of the stairs as he put the mask back on. He tried the door, but, of course, it was locked. He kicked and punched at the door, but cried out in pain as he clutched his broken arm. Was this to be the true end of Mikey Schmidt? Locked in the generator room, left in the dark to starve and dehydrate, left in this foul smelling place?

This place that… Smelled of rotting flesh.

Of blood.

_Of death._

He held the guard rail as he traveled deeper into the building. Liquid squished underfoot. The smell grew stronger, even with the mask covering most of the smell. Flies buzzed. A red, blinking light shone above. He tripped over something large.

The light glowed.

He had tripped over Freddy.

The light glowed again.

Freddy's eye was dangling from its socket. Mikey grabbed it to put back in. It felt cold and slimy.

The light glowed again.

Mikey dropped the eye and shrieked in horror. There was a pool of blood around the Freddy costume. A muscle was attached to the eye. The _human_ eye. The costume was limp and unmoving. Mikey was breathing heavily as he grabbed the head.

The light glowed again.

He pulled it off.

Blood spilled from the mask.

Maggots squirmed in and out of the head as it was freed from its prison.

A hat fell from the inside of the mask. A stupid hat with bear ears that read "security guard". A hat that was tinged black and partly eaten through, with hair and scalp dangling from it.

Mikey ran up the stairs, wailing loudly in terror, tripping on the metal stairs. He burst through the door and ran past Bonnie. Past Chica. And Foxy. Freddy. Screaming as he threw the mask to the floor. Screaming as he burst through the front doors into the warm sunlight. Tears fell as he collapsed onto the sidewalk.

He had fulfilled the phone guy's favor.


	8. Night 7

"Hey, good job, sport! You've earned some overtime," the nameless boss congratulated, smacking Mikey hard on the shoulder. He dropped fifty cents into Mikey's good hand and beamed widely at him as he did so. "I'm so glad to have such valuable employees like you!"

Mikey stared at his nominal earnings.

It wasn't worth it.

**11:30 PM**

The animatronics were on stand-by.

If they wanted to party, Mikey was ready to party. He opened a flap on the back of their necks and turned a knob as far as it would go; as referenced from a user's manual it supposedly affected how active they were towards restaurant patrons.

"Good luck," Freddy spoke, staring down at Mikey.

Mikey headed for the office.

**12 AM**

None of them had left the stage. They stared deviously at the camera.

"Come and get me you tin scraps! I'm waiting!" he yelled into the camera.

They didn't move.

He checked on Foxy. He he was staring at the camera as well, but was unmoving.

Laughter came from the kitchen.

He flickered the lights.

Bonnie and Chica were at the windows, convulsing and spewing nonsense as he closed the doors on them. Blood spilled down Chica's face. Bonnie smeared blackish-green fluid on his window.

"Let us… In… Mr. Schmidt…" gurgled Bonnie, pushing his face against the glass.

"Be… One of… Us…" Chica hacked, clawing at the new window.

"Only if you can get me!" he barked, smacking at Chica's window. She appeared startled and backed up.

"Let… us… in… You're almost-most th-there…" Bonnie groaned. "One… of us…"

"I'm not even close," he hissed, smacking Bonnie's window. Bonnie let out a furious wail and smacked the window back.

Laughter came from the right door, though Chica had apparently fled. It was Freddy.

"Good luck," Freddy sang from the other side. "Good luck!"

"One of us," Bonnie repeated. "You're... one-one-one of… u-us." Bonnie wandered away, allowing Mikey to open the door.

Foxy stood in its wake, glaring at Mikey.

Mikey slammed the door.

There was no banging, but Foxy had moved to the window.

"Good luck! Toreador!" Freddy sang, a hand on the right window.

Foxy laid his hook on the glass and scraped at it. Particles flew, and the noise made Mikey curl up and cry out in agony clutching his ears.

"Good luck!" Freddy called out again, clutching Chica in his arms. He slammed her into the glass. It cracked. She gurgled frantic nonsense.

"One… of… us…" Bonnie hissed at the left window. Foxy had left.

The phone rang.

Mikey answered.

"Is it safe?" asked the voice on the other end.

The animatronics were gone…

"Make a run for it," Mikey replied.

In a matter of seconds Jeremy was speeding inside, knocking loudly on the door until Mikey opened it and let him in. Jeremy glanced around and noticed the cracked window.

"Again? We just replaced that…" he sighed, gasping as he jumped back. Chica had returned to the window. He grabbed the Freddy mask that was resting on the ground and put it on, forcing Mikey behind himself. Chica gurgled and convulsed, smacking her head against the window before she stalked away in confusion.

"How does that even work?" Mikey asked in a whisper.

"They think you're one of them. Something with their facial recognition I think," he replied quietly, taking the mask off as he grabbed the monitor. He checked some of the cameras.

"You came early," Mike commented, noticing the clock read 3:30 AM.

"Uh, yeah, well… I felt kind of bad for you," Jeremy sighed. "You can open the doors."

Mikey opened the left and right doors.

It remained quiet in the office as they worked in sync, checking the cameras, flickering the lights, closing the doors and putting the mask on. They hardly noticed the hour fly by, or the power waning. It seemed they were going to both make it until morning.

It was 4:30 AM.

They were exhausted.

Jeremy was checking the cameras, yawning with the mask on.

Mikey's head nodded to the side, and soon his eyes closed.

"Good luck," whispered Freddy.

Mikey jolted awake, grabbed by the arm and tugged out of the room by the tall bear. He was thrown into the dining area, Jeremy shouting from the office. Bonnie took his left arm, and Chica took his right. They were dragging him kicking and screaming into the backstage.

"Jeremy! Help!" Mikey shouted, thrashing frantically in their grip. Foxy stood in front of the Pirate's Cove, looking on. He looked crestfallen. Jeremy ran from the office and pounced onto Bonnie. Bonnie wailed and shook Jeremy free, tossing him against the stone wall of the restaurant. Jeremy groaned before struggling to his feet, pouncing again onto Bonnie, tugging viciously at his head. Freddy grabbed Jeremy and flung him at Foxy, both of them landing with a thud on the ground. Jeremy didn't move.

Mikey glared, tears raining down his cheeks.

He winced as he slowly lost view of his partner; his only hope.

His only hope…

No.

Not his only hope.

"Foxy!" He shrieked. "Foxy, please! Help me!"

Bonnie and Chica held him on the repair table, groaning and twitching dementedly as Freddy hummed his song, shuffling through the many costumes in the room. He pulled out a costume of himself; the one from a few nights previous.

"Freddy! Please! Don't do this to me!" Mikey cried out, kicking his legs as he tried to pull free from Chica and Bonnie.

Freddy laughed the familiar little girl's laugh and shook his head. He lifted the mask, this one not quite as roomy as Jeremy's, and hovered it over Mikey's head.

There was a wailing, a flash, and soon the room was filled with the sound of scraping metal.

"Don't yeh' dare touch him!" Foxy yelled, barreling Freddy to the ground. Freddy cried out, easily pushing the archaic fox off and into a group of shelves. Several spare heads rained down. Foxy pounced onto Freddy's head, clawing at him madly with his hooked hand, gnashing his sharp teeth. He bit down hard to Freddy's face, slamming his feet into the bear's body until he fell over.

Bonnie and Chica faced each other and nodded.

They grabbed Mikey's legs and snapped his shins in half before rushing to assist their leader.

Foxy wailed as he was apprehended.

"Don't yeh' hurt him! Leave him be!" Foxy yelled desperately. The three animatronics conversed before apparently coming to an agreement. They ripped Foxy's head off, exposing the fragile endoskeleton skull beneath. They dismembered him and tossed his bare body out into the dining area. Mikey gazed in shock as he watched the rusted, mechanical pile of parts twitch on the ground before the door was shut.

Chica and Bonnie took up their spots again, holding Mikey down as Freddy picked up Foxy's empty costume. He placed the opening around the open neck at Mikey's feet. Chica and Bonnie roughly slammed him into the suit. He screamed, feeling the metal gouge into his skin, his broken bones tearing through the muscle and scraping against the insides of the machine. The heat was immense, and the blood gushed from his wounds, dripping onto the floor.

"No! Please!" he cried. "I don't… I don't want to die!"

"One of us…" Bonnie whispered.

They pushed harder, his knees crushed by the metal joints; his degloved feet began to show through the eroded bottom of the legs, the muscle and tendons were visible, and blood was gushing and dripping from his now present toes, his shredded shoes falling to the floor.

"One… of… us…" Chica cooed into his ear.

"No! I'm… Oh my god… Why…" he sobbed, slowly growing weak as the pain wracked his body. "I'm not on of you…"

_**IT'S ME. IT'S ME. IT'S ME.**_

His hips were punctured and scraped against the metal of the suit. His arm was torn free from its cast and jammed to his side, pushed into the opening to the hooked hand. He was feeling faint from the blood loss; feeling cold. He was seeing things; seeing Golden Freddy sitting in the corner, dead. Seeing Bonnie laughing and his black eyes peering malevolently at him. Seeing Chica spasm and garble out words that he still couldn't understand. Seeing Foxy biting his head… He was becoming Foxy. He laughed at the irony. He was assuming the life that had so long ago taken away his.

"One of us," Freddy cheered. His other arm was shoved into the partnering hole. It was bloody and broken like the rest of him. Mikey shook, far too cold and paralyzed to feel anymore. He vomited and sobbed.

Freddy lifted up Foxy's head.

Mikey stared.

"One of us," Bonnie said.

"One of us," Chica joined.

"One of us," Freddy concluded with a nod, setting it lightly on Mikey's head.

The clock in the room read 5:46 AM. But it changed.

It became 6 AM.

The animatronics froze and looked terrified. Freddy dropped Foxy's head. Chica and Bonnie dropped Mikey's shaking form. They retreated to the stage. An ambulance's sirens rang outside.

Mikey fainted.


	9. Epilogue

Mikey woke up in a bright room. He blinked groggily and tried to look around, but the glare of the light made it impossible to see. Voices resounded as echoes, growing louder as his vision began to clear. He tried to sit up but winced in pain as he found he could not.

The suit must be too heavy for him.

How was he even still alive?

Was he even Mikey anymore? Was he now _Foxy?_

He tried to turn his head, though found it extremely difficult to do so.

Where was Jeremy?

He started to call out, only to choke. He couldn't even talk as the suit was just far too constricting.

"Hey, don't move or talk; they put you on a machine," spoke a quiet voice.

Mikey blinked.

He wasn't at the restaurant. He was on a bed and beeping was heard at his side.

He was at the hospital.

"I'm guessing you can't remember what happened?" the voice asked. It was Jeremy; he had gauze around his head and a few bruises on his arms, though he looked relatively unscathed.

Mikey tried to move, to nod, to do _something._

"I just told you not to move," Jeremy snickered before taking a seat beside Mikey's bed. "You're insane, you know. They found out you tampered with them and used it as an excuse to fire you rather than compensate for… damage… Hah, you should see this pink slip... _Tampering with animatronics, general unprofessionalism... odor..?_" he began to explain as he chuckled lightly. He stopped and glared. "I will never forgive you, of course."

Mikey smiled slightly, shrugging with his eyebrows.. Jeremy apparently could read minds.

"I get it though; you were sick of them. I was too way back when," he sighed. "You've been in and out of it for days. They have to do skin grafts, and you'll be in a wheelchair for a while. A _long_ while. But you'll make it."

"I wish I could actually tell you what happened, but I was knocked out for a long time… I know they found you, er, what did they say… 'Unresponsive" I think it was, in the Foxy costume. They almost weren't able to bring you back. No fingerprints of course, and oddly enough all the video was erased; well, not erased, more like just static and distorted white noise, but still."

"Foxy was returned to his suit… I had head trauma… And you almost died. Again. You're one lucky kid, '87," Jeremy said with a wink. "The place is under investigation again, though… I don't think we'll be as lucky as we've been before…"

Mikey stared at the ground, guilt gnawing at him. It was all his fault.

"Don't sweat it, Mikey. We all lose it sometimes," Jeremy said, laying a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "Oh! I almost forgot… They brought your stuff in from the office, and… There's something there that might explain what happened. I read it since you were out, and it was just laying on the table, I hope you don't mind," he quickly explained, laughing nervously. He held out a sheet of paper with a horribly scribbled picture of a white blob with a red blob.

Himself as a child and Foxy.

From his clipboard.

Jeremy flipped it to the back, where there was an image the same quality of that which Picaso would be proud of.

It was… Himself… Staring at the monitor. On the monitor was Foxy.

There was a message above the image, written in swirling cursive writing.

_I loved being your hero. Time changed. And I loved being your hero twice as the time changed again. I can never truly be sorry, but this should make up for it somewhat. I'll miss you, but please, never come back here again._

Mikey's eyes watered and Jeremy pulled the paper away, folding it and placing it in Mikey's gauzed hand.

"I have to go take my shift… I'll see you around," Jeremy said, nodding slightly before he left the room. A doctor was walking in just as he left.

"Well, alright then, uh… Mister… Mike Schmidt, you'll be ready to get discharged in a few weeks," rambled the nameless doctor, flipping through the sheets of paper as he droned and went on to explain how near to death he had been and how many operations and pills were on the road ahead.

Mike, huh?

_Mike_ sounded like a different person than _Mikey_.

Someone completely different.

Maybe that's what he wanted; to be someone else. Not Mikey, the kid from '87, that woesome traumatized little kid who somehow _deserved_ the pity of every human on the planet. No, he wasn't Mikey anymore. He was Mike.

Mike Schmidt.

The previous security guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, preceded by some guy on the phone whom he had never formally met; who made below minimum wage at three dollars and forty three cents an hour; who made fifty cents overtime; who lasted more than five nights at Freddy's; who was only just 18 years old and ready to restart his life thanks to the same animatronic fox who had ruined it.

Mike smiled for the first time in six years.

He was going to be fine.

_Author's Note_

I do realize the ending is a bit abrupt; this is my first story that I've ever started and finished let alone published for viewing eyes! I am currently working on a completely fan-made sequel for this, so those who are a bit let down by the ending must keep a look out for it! And please, don't forget to leave me suggestions; a person can only get better if they know what they're doing wrong!

_~Admin LP_


	10. UPDATE - IT WILL BE CONTINUED

**NOT REALLY A CHAPTER JUST UPDATING YOU GUYS**

**Okay, so yes, this story does leave you off in a weird spot, but hang on a sec!**

**What is this?**

**I think...**

**Yes**

**Yes, here it is!**

**Just for you!**

**More chapters!**

**More story!**

**YES**

**Just hope you guys don't mind me throwing in an OC.**

**I was really confused on how to continue the story without ruining the whole thing. I wanted to put in more characters (a LOT more characters aka The Toys and Jeremy) so... I've been planning and writing and I think I finally have a good story line thought out that will make sense. So yeah. I'm so sorry for taking forever! Please, also, feel free to leave requests on what you want to see from me and critiques on the story! It means a lot to me, and can do nothing but make me (and the story) better!**

**~Admin LP**

**Happy New Year!**


	11. 1994 - Another Prologue

"Hello?"

A young woman looked around the room, a look of confusion upon her face. Wiping sweat from her forehead, she stepped outside and looked at the hours of operation. She sighed and stepped back inside, wishing she had been met with the comforting breeze of a running AC. The sign said it should be open, and the doors were unlocked, but there was no one in sight.

"Scott?" she called, walking into the Dining Area. "Mr. Cawthon?"

There was still no reply.

"He said to meet him here by noon, didn't he?" she asked herself, checking the clock on a nearby wall. It read that it was 12:10 PM. She raised an eyebrow in disbelief. How could Freddy's be so deserted on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of June? With a loud sigh she slumped into one of the child-sized chairs closest to the animatronics.

"Have you guys seen Scott?" she asked rhetorically. She knew that they hadn't been able to interact with people since '87. It was disheartening, especially since they had been her entire childhood when she was younger, but she got over it; it wasn't like they had really been alive or anything.

"Geez, I'm sorry!" huffed a gruff male voice.

The woman sat up straight in her chair, making sure to cross her legs appropriately and clutch her fingers together and rest them on the table. She grinned happily, fixing her hair to the side while also brushing away more of her sweat.

"I've been caught up in a lot of paper work; our old security guard is coming back and I was filling out his forms… Sorry for being late," explained the man, straightening out his greasy, previously white-collared shirt. He extended a warm, moist hand to Dana. "Scott Cawthon, manager of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza."

"It's nice to meet you in person, Mr. Cawthon," she replied, hesitantly shaking his hand. She wiped her hand on her pants afterwards.

Scott took a seat across from her, shuffling through a stack of files. He sighed, his eyes lowered in an almost look of boredom. The woman glanced over them nervously, her smile wavering slightly.

"So… I've been going through your application… Um… Why do you think you would make a good security guard?" Scott asked, straightening out a pile of papers by knocking them on the table.

"I, uh… I've been coming to Freddy's since I was a little girl; I love this place!" she started, her smile widening to the point it was almost cheesy.

Scott rolled his eyes.

"I don't recognize you," he commented.

"Well… My parents wouldn't let me go after… What happened…" she explained, glancing to the side.

Scott nodded awkwardly.

"Yes, well… I understand why. Um… Anything else? Any notable skills?" Scott pushed, though he didn't seem too into the interview.

"I skipped third grade and I graduated early; I can come in to work any time," she answered.

Scott grumbled before resting his chin on his hands and staring at her.

"Listen," he said. "Not once have I hired a female for this position. Not once have I hired someone under the age of eighteen. You're a seventeen year-old girl with no experience whatsoever. The only thing you have going for you is your persistence; I was sitting in that office waiting for you to leave, but you wouldn't. Dana- It is Dana right?"

She nodded solemnly.

"There is no possible way for me to hire you. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to d-"

"I can beat you at arm wrestling!" Dana burst out. She was desperate. She grabbed Scott's hand, sending papers to the floor, and set up for the forced competition.

"Miss, I hardly doubt you could-"

She slammed his arm onto the table and sent him to the ground wallowing in agony as he clutched his shoulder.


	12. Another Night 1

_He couldn't be any happier than he was today. He grinned devilishly with delight as he checked the day's schedule once more._

_A birthday party._

_Oh what guilty pleasure it brought him. He loved the children. He loved to sing to them and make them happy and safe. He loved his job, his purpose. Nothing made him so full of content than to see their smiling, gleeful faces._

_He peered around the small restaurant, unable to remain patient for the guests. There was but one small Dining Area, in which he shared his Show Stage; he was normally alone while he entertained, though the children at times would scramble up to accompany and talk to him. There was also a small Kitchen, though he would only find himself in there if he were retrieving a cake for a party. Another room present was the Office, though that was off-limits to him; only the security personnel were permitted in there for safety reasons; he was fine with that though, it was probably boring in there anyways._

_The manager soon arrived, happy and chipper as always._

_"**I bet you're excited today, huh?**" he asked, turning on his free roaming function._

_He stretched out and yawned, his servos easing and his circuits warming up as he got ready to prepare for the day._

_The party had begun._

_He was carrying a large cake, delivering slices to each of the six rowdy, impatient children. His eyes wandered over to the glass doors where he spotted a rather frightened looking child who appeared to be lost and crying. If it came inside he would be able to help it, but otherwise there was nothing he could do. He was not permitted to leave the restaurant._

_He watched the kid a moment more before the children began pestering him for seconds, drawing his attention away from the sobbing child outside. The children always made him happy, but he wanted some time to think. To watch._

_The child stood outside the door, seeming to be contemplating entering or not._

_He wasn't delivering the cakes fast enough, and the children were getting upset with him. He was getting a bit annoyed that he couldn't have just a few minutes of peace to think, but he knew it only because they were children. They didn't think like he did. They didn't notice like he did._

_Didn't notice the pain._

_Or experience it._

_As the car pulled up and the man in purple stepped out and approached the child._

_And hurt._

_The child._

_It was a paradox._

_He had to keep the child safe, but he couldn't leave the restaurant._

_If it had only come inside._

_His servos locked up._

_And the Marionette-_

Jeremy shouted. He had sweat through his shirt completely and sat shivering in bed. The moonlight illuminated his frightened face. He checked the clock; it was 4 in the morning. He shakily got out of bed, cursing under his breath. He opened his bedroom door, stalking off into the kitchen. He stood at the sink, his face cold and pale with sweat.

_What is happening to me?_

"Hey, uh… You alright, Jeremy?"

He turned to see the glittering green eyes of Toy Bonnie, or as he prefered to be called, Bonbon.

Jeremy nodded, though felt tears falling down his face.

"We heard you yell. This is the third time this week," Bonbon huffed, resting his blue hands on his hips.

"Yeah, I'm fine, okay? Just go back to… Doing whatever it was you were doing…" Jeremy sighed, though his voice was taught with fear.

"I wasn't really doing much of anything," Bonbon replied, stepping closer to Jeremy. "Do you want to talk? Maybe it'll help?" he suggested, though with his refusal to leave him alone and the tone in his voice, Jeremy assumed he had no choice but to confide in the animatronic rabbit.

Bonbon was Bonnie's scrapped remake; a feminine, light blue rabbit with bright green emerald eyes. He had black eyebrows (unlike his counterpart), rosy red cheeks, and a red bowtie. His stomach was pure white with black buttons that were to resemble that of a suit. In times past, Jeremy could recall actually having a fear of the guy.

"I guess… It's pretty stupid though," Jeremy caved, walking into the living room of his house.

His home was rather commodious, which was a good trait to have with so many living under its roof. It was affordable to him as well, as he was head of security at Freddy's and would be celebrating his seventh year of employment. It was tidy and in order, though was kept under constant maintenance for numerous reasons.

"Where is everyone?" Jeremy asked, yawning as he sat hunched over on his couch.

"Well, I'm in here with you. Freddy's… Doing his usual thing…" Bonbon started, biting his lip slightly with unease. The two were not on good terms at the moment; Toy Freddy (known also as Fred or Fredrick) had been… forcefully… suspended from his position as leader and replaced by Bonbon, leaving the two on shaky ground ever since (a total of almost seven years). "Um… Last I saw Chica she was on the computer, and Vixen and BB were playing with some of your boardgames in the closet."

Jeremy sighed.

"So out with it. What's going on?" Bonbon asked, seating himself beside Jeremy.

"I've been having those nightmares again… This time was different though, the girl wasn't there… I think… I think I was Freddy- the old one I mean… I don't know… But there was this crying kid and I was watching him get murdered right outside. But I couldn't do anything and then that stupid puppet came at me…" he explained, shivering as he recalled the pool of blood around the kid's body. "It was so real, like it was actually happening."

Bonbon nodded and thought for a moment.

"It seems to me like you and ol' Fazbear have some unfinished business. Maybe that's it?" Bonbon theorized, raising an eyebrow. "How has he been?"

Jeremy let out an aggravated sigh; of course Bonbon didn't want to help him, he just wanted to gossip.

"I wouldn't know; I only see him on my shift when he can't kill me," he answered.

"I know that," Bonbon huffed with a frown. "I mean, how has he been acting? He may not be able to free-roam, but he can still act differently on stage."

Jeremy thought for a moment. He hadn't been paying much mind to the animatronics the past week; he had been busy training the new security guard. If Freddy had been acting differently this week, he wouldn't have even noticed.

"You're taking Mike back in tonight, aren't you?" Bonbon asked.

Jeremy smacked a hand to his forehead.

He had completely forgotten about Mike.

The year before the two of them had decided to team up for a night shift. It ended with Jeremy earning himself a dandy of a concussion and Mike nearly dying. Again. Mike had gotten himself nearly stuffed into Foxy's suit and had been on a medical leave the whole year to recover; the escapade had resulted in him receiving numerous skin grafts and operations to repair his shattered tibias and fibulas (each set having been broken by Original Bonnie and Chica), keeping him bedridden and in rehab for a majority of his year. Despite all of this, however, he had convinced Jeremy into getting Scott to rehire him.

"Thanks for the reminder," Jeremy replied bitterly.

"Just join him for the night again. See if you can talk to Freddy at all. Plus it'll give you time to flirt with the new chick," Bonbon suggested.

Jeremy slugged him in the arm.

"That girl is ten years younger than me!" he barked, glaring spitefully at the laughing animatronic.

"Well you'd better get a move on then! You've got what, three-four years left?" he asked, smiling darkly.

Jeremy flinched.

Where Scott had been throwing the Toys away as malfunctioning scrap metal, Jeremy had decided at last minute to buy them at a very steep price. Though they were forever indebted to him for his life-saving service, they weren't keen on spending the rest of their days locked up in a twenty year old's house with only day-time television and Monopoly to keep themselves occupied. Upon a years time they decided that if Jeremy truly cherished his life, he was going to have a child by the time he was thirty so they would at least be able to serve their programmed purpose and entertain a kid.

Jeremy knew they were probably bluffing, so he had been putting it off. At the age of twenty-six, however, his deadline quickly began to approach, and he got the sinking feeling that it might be in his best interest to at least try being in a relationship. It wasn't wise to risk it, especially since lying wasn't in their programming.

^xx..oo..xx^

"Alright, you think you can handle being alone until I get back?" Jeremy asked, staring nervously at the young girl before him.

"I'm not a child, Mr. Fitzgerald. I'll be fine," Dana replied with a sigh. She was smiling madly with excitement, joy practically coming off of her in waves. She proudly adorned her uniform, which was the same one all security guards were given, the only difference being that she wore a skirt and her hat had Bonnie's ears sewn on rather than Freddy's. "I've learned from the best."

Jeremy smiled slightly before nodding and adjusting his hat. There was about half an hour before 12 when her's and Mike's shift would begin. So long as there wasn't any traffic, he would be back just before then.

"Don't mess with the animatronics and don't go in the kitchen, alright? Just… If anything happens, go into the office and close the doors," he explained, heading to the exit. "I'll be back in half an hour!"

"Get lost old man!" she barked.

Jeremy snickered.

He had gotten to know the girl a bit during the week. She was extremely smart and clever, though her greatest strength was, well… her strength. With such a small figure, he never would have thought she would possess such brawn. Despite that, however, she was a bit on the slothful side, a trait that was evident when she had confessed she only applied for the job when she had mistakenly heard that the employees received free pizza and the fact she refused to do much of anything; checking the cameras and closing the doors seemed the perfect job for her, though he wasn't sure she would be able to handle the stress of having to watch for the animatronics.

He got into his car and sighed.

He hoped Mike would like his new partner.

^xx..oo..xx^

Jeremy laid on the horn, checking the digital clock in his car. They were running late.

"Mike! Pick up the pace will ya'?" Jeremy shouted anxiously, shaking his head.

"Calm down! Jesus, Jeremy… I'm moving as fast as I can," Mike returned, smiling. He was without any support tonight; his first night moving freely on his own. His first night back to work… He was extensively happy.

"Yeah, well, while you're moving slower than anything I have ever seen, your partner is alone at the restaurant on their first night," Jeremy huffed, looking back as he speedily maneuvered out of the parking lot of Mike's apartment complex. He sped down the road, keeping a wary eye for any cops.

"Slow down! We're going to make it," Mike reassured Jeremy. "So, who is the guy anyway? Why's Scott think I need a babysitter?"

"First off, it's not a 'guy' it's a girl. Secondly, you do need a babysitter. You tampered with them and got fired, not to mention they don't seem to like you at all. And I say that in the most tactful way I can," Jeremy explained, tossing a glare over at the nineteen year old. "Don't be fooling around with her, okay? Unlike you, she has aspirations."

"Aspirations, huh? Niffty. Like what?" Mike questioned, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms as he looked out the window.

"Like… Getting free pizza. I don't know. She never said, but I guarantee you she has them. Just don't go ruining her life, alright? And take it easy yourself… You just got those leg braces off," Jeremy replied.

Mike stiffened.

"Yeah… Don't remind me…" he mumbled, rubbing his scarred legs.

Jeremy cussed loudly as he glanced again at the clock.

It was 11:55 PM.

He pulled into the parking lot, not bothering to park in a designated spot. He opened Mike's door, shouting viciously at him to get out and sprint inside. He hurried himself, yanking the front doors open. The sound of guitar erupted as he did so making him stop in his tracks.

Dana was holding Bonnie's guitar in hand, playing Bon Jovi as if she were a master herself of Livin' on a Prayer. She was far too lost in the music, standing on one of the tables with plates and party hats strewn about on the floor. She didn't notice that Bonnie himself was watching and listening.

Oh, but Jeremy did.

"Dana! Office! Now!" he shouted, Mike staring in a stunned horror as the purple rabbit grabbed the guitar from her skillful fingers.

She froze and looked at him.

"You shouldn't take people's things without asking," Bonnie remarked before strumming his guitar. "Your form was horrendously sloppy by the way."

Dana stared at him in silence.

"Dana, get to the office right now!" Jeremy hissed at her, not wishing to wake up Chica or Freddy. Mike had already fled to the Office.

"What are you doing here after hours anyways, little one? Where are your parents?" Bonnie asked with a smile.

Jeremy was shocked. He had never once seen Bonnie act this way at night.

"Er…" Dana stammered. Bonnie lightly took her hand, his eyes seeming to be overflowing with joy.

"Come on, I'll help you find them!" Bonnie said in a reassuring tone, luring her to the Office; all lost children were led there during the day.

"I'm not a kid, Bonnie!" Dana laughed, tugging her hand away nervously. "I'm a night guard! I work here."

Bonnie's ears flicked and he blinked.

"N-night guard?" he repeated in a confused tone. "But you're a kid… Aren't you..?" he looked her over, blinking again. "N-night… Security… But you're a… Oh dear…" he mumbled gibberish before his head began to jerk and convulse. A loud whirring noise erupted and he fell to his knees.

Jeremy grabbed Dana's arm and tugged her away from where Bonnie sat malfunctioning on the ground. He pulled her into the office and closed the doors. Mike sat in the swivel chair with the monitor clutched in hand.

"What the hell was that? That's never happened before…" Mike whispered, checking on Bonnie in the Dining Area. Chica had hopped off the Show Stage to see him, and Freddy was watching them both in confusion.

"He malfunctioned…" Jeremy replied, rubbing at his chin. He frowned and glared at Dana. "I told you to go to the office!" he yelled. "When I tell you to do something you do it!"

Dana's eyes grew wide and she looked down.

"Sorry…" she answered, grabbing her arm.

Jeremy huffed in anger before taking the monitor from Mike. Freddy was now crouched beside Bonnie, attempting to repair his friend himself.

He sighed and rested the monitor on the desk.

Then he remembered something.

"Dana, he thought you were a kid right?" Jeremy asked.

She nodded swiftly with a look of shame and embarrassment on her face.

He recalled from his dream…

He couldn't leave the restaurant, but he had to help the child.

_Bonnie had to hurt the security guard. He couldn't hurt a child._

_They malfunction when they reach a paradox._

Was Dana a paradox to Bonnie? If she was, would she be to the others?

Jeremy grinned at the thought, though didn't think it best to test the theory, at least not tonight anyway. If it were true, however…

_It's me._


	13. Another Night 2

_He was roaming the restaurant, smiling ever so slightly as he looked over the blurring of faces. There were adults, though they didn't appeal to him like the children did; being around them made his servos whir with delight. He saw the security guard, who smiled and waved lightly to him, which he respectfully returned. He winked at his friends who were putting on a show for the children, though only one seemed to acknowledge him; that was alright, though, he knew they were busy._

_He was busy too._

_There was a party going on today, and he was the star entertainer. He was happy to take on the challenge, as it was one he was rarely ever given the opportunity to take. He was wracked with nerves, however, as this group of children was one he knew well; they were here most every day. He couldn't bear to disappoint them._

_**Ready?**_

_He prepared himself behind the curtain, attempting to calm down a bit._

_**Go, go, go!**_

_He erupted from behind the curtains, giving a jovial cheer as he raised his hooked hand. The kids clapped and laughed happily and popped confetti in unison with his jubilation. Only a single child seemed distant and slightly unhappy. He approached her, hiding his nervousness with a sneaky smile._

"_**Ai, lass, what seems ter' be troublin' yeh?**_" _he asked as he rested a hand on her shoulder. "__**I don't bite!**_"

_She smiled, though panic glinted in her eyes._

_He felt hurt, but understood. Children either adored him or feared him. He decided to leave her be._

_He left._

_He roamed the restaurant a bit. He chattered with some patrons, spoke to the band. He was due to pop in and check on the party again._

_**Ready?**_

_He prepared himself to enter again, giving himself a quick pep talk to rev his morale. The party had to be perfect._

_**Go, go, go!**_

_He emerged again with a hearty yowl, greeted by the childrens' joyous cries and confetti-poppers. The girl was still seemingly upset in his presence, but he kept his distance from her; he didn't wish to spoil her fun. He noticed a new guest to the party, one whom he hadn't been expecting to see, though all the same her presence could only mean nothing but good. He stifled a snicker of amusement; her appearance heavily resembled the restaurant's mascot._

_He again left them to their own devices._

_Time passed._

_People began to leave as night began to eat away at the sunlight. He noticed that the previous security guard was missing, replaced by his younger counterpart that assumed his position at night. It was peculiar, as they normally touched bases before he left. Closing time was drawing near, and he decided to check in on the party once more; he couldn't recall seeing them leave, and it was unsafe for children to be in the restaurant after hours._

_**Ready?**_

_The security guard hadn't left after all. He was standing off to the side, smiling as he clutched a familiar __**yellow **__head under his arm. He waved. He respectfully returned the gesture._

_**Go, go, go!**_

_He stepped into the room, expecting to see the children sitting around and happily conversing with each other. He felt something he had never felt before, and it made his gears churn with unease. The children were not sitting around._

_They were on the floor._

_The children were not happy._

_Their expressions were blank._

_They were not conversing._

_They were_

_Dead._

_He felt his servos lock up and Foxy-_

Jeremy shrieked at the sound. He saw her; the girl. Again. He fell to the floor in a sweaty tangle of sheets. He hit his head on the wall, shivering as he groaned in fear and annoyance. He hadn't gotten a decent sleep in weeks.

He got up and stormed out of his room. He went into the kitchen and got himself a glass of water, though was unable to hold the glass steady in his shaking grip and spilled some of it on the floor. Toy Bonnie did not greet him tonight. He was glad.

He stared out of his small window into his back yard. The sun shone brightly outside, making him squint and grimace with detest. He sighed grumpily and dug around in a cupboard, pulling out an oddly shaped bottle that read "Buttershots".

_This'll help me sleep…_

Jeremy was not an alcoholic, though drinking did calm his nerves and put him out. It did leave him with a dandy of a hangover afterwards, but he needed his sleep regardless. He walked into the living room, though froze as he saw someone already present in there.

It was Toy Freddy.

Jeremy decided not to sit beside him and instead sat in his recliner. There was a strong pungent smell that made him frown and sent a spiteful glare to the animatronic bear.

"Who gave you the keys to the garage?" Jeremy asked.

Toy Freddy sighed and tossed them over.

"You know you're not supposed to be drinking oil," Jeremy scolded him.

"It helps," Toy Freddy objected, staring down sorrowfully at the small container in his hands. "Just let me finish it off…"

Jeremy didn't condone such a thing, but decided to let him have it. It wasn't fair that only himself was allowed to drink.

"What's wrong with you?" Jeremy asked, undoing the cap to his own beverage.

"A better question would be 'what isn't wrong with you?'," Toy Freddy sighed, taking a polite sip of the canister. "I'm just upset… Nothing new…"

It was obvious he didn't want to talk about it.

"You're having nightmares again?" Toy Freddy asked, staring at Jeremy. His eyes were once a piercing blue, but now were foggy and clouded over; he wasn't as scary as he had once been… He was now just… Sad.

Jeremy fondled the top of the bottle.

"Yeah… Did Bonbon tell you?" Jeremy answered, glancing up.

Toy Freddy snorted and sat back in the couch.

"You honestly think he would want to talk to me? No… You were screaming again," he explained. He smiled. "I remember when we used to do that to you. It was fun back then. I wonder what changed…"

Out of all of them, Toy Freddy was ironically the most sadistic.

"Yeah, I remember it too," Jeremy said, shuffling uncomfortably in his seat. He finally decided to take a drink from the bottle.

The two grew silent.

They didn't talk for the rest of the evening, though enjoyed the company of having a drinking partner (until the point Jeremy passed out).

^xx..oo..xx^

Jeremy honked impatiently at Mike as he waited for him to get into the car. Mike was not as chipper as he had been the night before. He plopped into the passenger's seat without a word, staring out the car window. He was pale and distant.

"Everything okay?" Jeremy decided to ask, glancing over to the young guard. His head was pounding, and he was mad at himself for getting himself so overly drunk. He was sober now, though the taste of his drink was still present in his mouth. "Do you need me to stop and get you anything?"

Mike hesitantly shook his head.

"Well… I need to stop and pick up some Aspirin; my head is killing me…" he sighed, turning into the parking lot of a CVS Pharmacy. The clock read that it was 11:30; they should be able to make it on time, and even if they didn't, Jeremy was sure that Dana would know what to do on her own until they arrived. They had, after all, spent the whole night shift previous showing her the ropes (though with Bonnie's unexpected malfunction, it hadn't exactly been an accurate portrayal of what was to be expected). "Are you sure you're alright? Do you want to come in with me?" Jeremy urged, slightly worried about Mike's sudden change in character.

Again, Mike shook his head and continued to stare out the window.

Giving up, Jeremy got out of the car and went into the store. He noticed some large firework displays, hinting at the upcoming Fourth of July holiday; maybe he would get some sparklers or something… He was sure that BB would enjoy those.

_You're here for Aspirin, numbnuts; you can think about this later._

He grabbed a small container of Aspirin from the shelf and went to the check-out. He spotted some soda as well… And grabbed two bottles of Sprite; he wasn't selfish, and he had the money to spare anyways. He left and got back in the car, quickly taking two of the small pills while tossing Mike his drink.

"Thanks," Mike sighed as he awkwardly drank from the bottle.

Jeremy smiled, glad to finally hear Mike talking. Perhaps he was ready to converse as well?

"So… Got any plans Friday?" Jeremy asked. It was too late to realize how wrong that sounded coming from him.

Mike stared out the window and snickered.

"Yes; I have work on Friday," Mike replied. "I'm assuming you're talking about Independence Day?"

"Yeah… You're not doing anything with your family?" Jeremy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mike shook his head.

"My parents got divorced; I was never close with my dad, and my mom… Uh… She was a heavy smoker. I was an only child… So, it's just me," Mike explained, taking another drink from his Sprite.

"You don't have a girlfriend?" Jeremy continued. It was hard for him to picture Mike always by himself. He shouldn't be allowed to be alone, especially with his… Past…

"Nope," Mike answered. "I'm spending the Fourth alone at Freddy's. Maybe I'll see some fireworks from the window…" Mike mumbled. He saw the shocked look on Jeremy's face and laughed. "It's fine, it doesn't bother me. What are you doing on the Fourth?"

Jeremy bit his tongue to refrain from answering. He couldn't answer honestly; Mike would call him insane for living with animatronics. He shrugged and laughed nervously.

"Nothing, really… I'll probably just sleep or something… I go back to day shift on Thursday, so… It sounds like a pretty good idea," Jeremy replied. Mike seemed to buy it and turned away, staring back out the window as they pulled up to the restaurant. It was, again, 11:55. Jeremy hated cutting it so close, but he had to get rid of the migraine; he was useless when he was hungover. He and Mike bolted out of the car and into the restaurant where they were pleasantly greeted with nothing out of the ordinary. They hustled into the office where Dana sat anxiously in the swivel chair.

"Hey, Dana; everything okay so far?" Jeremy asked, panting as he flicked the light to the left door. He sighed with relief that Bonnie wasn't there. He checked the camera, switching to Pirate's Cove; he was aware that Foxy became active after Monday. Again, he was only met with nothing worth worrying over.

"Yeah, everything's fine… They were playing some weird music, and I thought I heard something but… It was nothing. They haven't moved," Dana reported, smiling. She was obviously pleased with herself. "I'm sorry about yesterday, I didn't know-"

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Jeremy cut her off, glancing to Mike. "You want camera duty, or you want me to do it?"

Mike shrugged.

"Whatever you want to do," he answered.

Jeremy frowned and looked to Dana.

"Want to monitor them?" he offered, holding the camera out to her. She shook her head nervously.

"I… Thought I saw something on the wall earlier… I'd rather do the doors…" she explained, biting her bottom lip as she stepped over to the left door.

Jeremy gave an exasperated sigh and checked the Show Stage; Bonnie was still present, and stared worriedly at the camera. Chica was absent. Freddy hadn't budged. Checking Pirate's Cove again, Foxy still hadn't shown any signs of detectable move.

"Keep on eye on your side, Mike," Jeremy informed, setting the camera down on the desk. Mike nodded and flicked the right light, showing no one in the hallway. Loud clanging could be heard coming from the Kitchen, however, revealing that Chica was scrounging around in there.

Dana shuffled anxiously, checking her light.

"You don't have to worry about it; Bonnie and Foxy haven't moved yet," Jeremy reassured her. "We still haven't fixed our energy problem, so we can only check when necessary, okay?"

"Okay… Sorry," Dana apologized glumly. "I really suck at this…"

"At least _you_ weren't shoved inside a suit," Mike joked with a smile. It only succeeded in making Dana sweat and fidget nervously. "Just relax; it's your first week," Mike quickly added.

The next few hours passed without much action. Chica came to the door, though Mike kept her out. She didn't say much, if anything at all (which was odd since she would normally sass it up the first few days). She just seemed to be watching them, confusion frozen on her face. Bonnie did end up leaving the show stage, and like Chica, he didn't say a word, a very out of character thing for him to do. When Dana pridefully closed the door on him, he kept his distance and only looked inside with a look of what Jeremy could only describe as fear and bewilderment.

Jeremy saw that Dana was steadily growing more confident as the night drew on. By 4 she seemed almost excited; she was actually anticipating seeing Bonnie show up just so she could slam the door in his face. Mike seemed to notice it too, and his attitude had changed as well. Jeremy couldn't help but to wonder what had made Mike so reserved earlier.

_Maybe he had just forgotten what it was like to be working again?_

An eerie and unfamiliar moaning sound came from Dana's side.

She flicked the light, not bothering to ask the question they were all wondering. The light did not turn on.

"Huh..?" she mumbled, pressing the button again. The light still refused to come on, and she began mashing it. "Jeremy, it's not working," she stated, panic filling her tone. She stepped back, breathing heavily as she shook. A few wires were tossed into the room, and Bonnie stepped inside, his arms crossed.

Jeremy pulled her behind him as he stood tall, almost able to meet Bonnie's red eyes head-on.

"I'm not going to hurt a ch-child," Bonnie stammered, seeming appalled that Jeremy had taken it upon himself to protect Dana. He frowned and reached a hand out to grab the security guard only to abruptly freeze at the sound of a low growl.

"What yeh' be doin' lad?" asked Foxy as he stepped into the room. He was glaring spitefully at Bonnie. Bonnie's eyes were wide with alarm.

"I w-was just… I was-" Bonnie tried to explain, only to be cut off by Foxy tugging him close to his face.

"I recommend yeh' get back to the Stage. I wouldn't want yeh' ter' go through a repeat of last night," Foxy suggested, though his tone suggested that Bonnie had little choice in the matter. Should the purple rabbit refuse, it was obvious Foxy was going to physically throw him out.

Bonnie looked sorrowfully at Foxy before he nodded and shuffled out. He peered through the window at the group before finally leaving.

With Bonnie gone, Foxy turned to glare at Mike.

"I thought I made it clear enough ter' yeh' lad; yeh' weren't s'posed ter' come back 'ere!" Foxy barked, his ears drawing back. "I was tryin' teh' keep yeh' safe, Mikey…" he paused, his eyes softening. "I'm glad yer' alright," he finally huffed out, embracing the shocked security guard lovingly into his chest.

Dana stared in utter confusion, not quite understanding what was going on. Jeremy, too, was surprised; Foxy was supposed to be mauling Mike and shoving him in a suit, not snuggling him like a dog that hadn't seen its owner for a week. Mike was stiff for a moment before he hesitantly wrapped an arm around the happy pirate fox.

"I know I wasn't supposed to come back, Foxy," Mike answered, lightly pushing the animatronic away. Free from his grip, he clung to the chair and attempted to calm himself down. He had obviously been thinking the same thing Jeremy had.

"Why aren't you trying to hurt us..?" Dana finally asked, addressing the elephant in the room without hesitation.

Foxy turned to look at her, all happiness gone from him in an instant.

"Would yeh' prefer me teh' do so?" he asked, darkly leaning close to her. She squeaked and cowered in fear, only to be met with a hearty laugh and a hug from Foxy as well. "I'm just messin' with yeh' lass; I wouldn't dream o' hurtin' any of yeh', you especially," he explained, tail wagging jovially. He looked back to Mike, a frown returning to his face. "Mikey, lad… Why? Yer' in trouble 'ere… I thought yeh' trusted ol' Foxy…"

Mike blushed darkly, not liking to be called _Mikey_. He sweat nervously and shrugged.

"I… Just… I… Had to come back," Mike stammered in an attempt to explain. He was biting his lower lip, obviously not saying everything that he wanted to.

Jeremy checked the Show Stage, making sure Bonnie had indeed wander back; he had, though Freddy was now missing. He quickly slammed the right door and attempted to usher Foxy out of the office.

"Yes, well… I'm sure we all have a lot to talk about, but do remember we are working," Jeremy huffed, shaking with anxiety; he knew Foxy was sincere when he said he wouldn't hurt them, but he was still an animatronic… And accidents had happened in the past…

"How do yeh' plan on workin' with a busted door?" Foxy argued, smirking with his arms crossed. Jeremy grew quiet and sighed. "I can keep that ol' rabbit outta' yer' hair, lad. He wouldn't dream of messin' with me," Foxy explained with a grin, though Jeremy could tell Foxy was only making the suggestion to protect Mike. It was clear that doing this made him feel like a traitor to his friends.

"If that's what you want to do," Jeremy huffed, quickly checking the monitor again; Bonnie was still on the Show Stage, and with the loud clanging down the hall Chica's position was also revealed. It was only Freddy that couldn't be found. Jeremy gave a questioning look to Mike who only shrugged and peeked out the door.

"He's not in the hall," Mike reported.

"Ai', are yeh' lookin' fer' the cap'n?" Foxy asked, flicking his ears. "Sometimes when he's in a mood he'll go off into the ladie's room," he reluctantly explained, rubbing nervously at his hooked hand.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow before switching to the bathrooms; it was faint,though Freddy's catchphrase song was playing in the background. Normally, Freddy would only be looming outside the bathrooms, but he couldn't be seen on the monitor this time.

"Why does he do that..?" Dana asked; she was sitting in a corner with her hat off beside her.

"Not too sure meself, lass. I don't think he goes in there by choice; Freddy's a proud one," Foxy replied. "It might just be-" he cut off, a look of shock on his face as he covered his mouth.

"Might be what?" Jeremy asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn't understand why everyone was so off today. First it was Mike in the car, then it was Freddy in the bathroom, and now Foxy? What was going on today?

"N-nothin'," Foxy said, turning away. His tail swished slightly as he looked down. "Nothin' I'm permitted ter' tell yeh' anyways…"

"What..?" Jeremy huffed in confusion. Before Foxy could dodge the question, the loud donging of a clock resounded throughout the restaurant, bringing a look of relief to the animatronic's eyes. Without a word, he was out of the room and back at Pirate's Cove, the other's returning to the Show Stage.

Checking the clock, Jeremy saw that it was now 6 AM.

"What is happening… God…" Dana mumbled, standing up. "I'm gonna go… Uh… See you guys later…" she stammered, grabbing her hat as she left; she seemed to be very weirded out and ashamed.

"Nice work tonight! You did really good for your second night," Mike called after her; he seemed to have noticed.

Dana looked back with a smile, though her eyes betrayed her as she clocked out and headed for the doors to leave. Bustling in after her was Scott.

"Geez, what's he doing here?" Mike whispered, his level of nervousness seeming to multiply upon itself. Jeremy understood why, though gave Mike a reassuring look.

"I don't think he's here to fire you again, don't worry," Jeremy replied.

"Jeremy! Just the guy I was wanting to see!" Scott greeted, pulling the security guard in close for a warm, unwanted hug. He was drenched in sweat; the day had only just begun and it was already a scorcher out it seemed. He gave a wary eye to Mike. "Mike," he acknowledged.

"Scott," Mike returned with a respectful nod.

"Go ahead and start the car," Jeremy huffed, pulling the car keys out of his pocket and tossing them to Mike. He turned his attention to Scott. "What's up?"

Scott didn't answer, though hurried off into the Office. Inside, he glanced around the room, peeked through the doors before abruptly shutting them, and shut the monitor off. He seated himself in the chair and let out an exasperated whine as he put his head into his hands.

"Scott..?" Jeremy asked, not having seen this kind of behavior from his employer before.

"The company's going under, Jeremy," Scott started, looking up sadly. "We're barely breaking it even… We have to find a way to start turning in more profit or we're getting shut down."

Jeremy's lip twitched and he let out a small squeak of laughter in disbelief. "You're joking, right?"

Scott mumbled something illegible before shaking his head.

"I wish I was… No… We have about five months or so left. We might be able to extend it a year if we can make this month's payment but… God… Jeremy, I need ideas, something we can do…" Scott exclaimed, a look of panic on his face. "I've been in this job since I was your age; nearly thirty years, I… I can't see it fail, please…"

Jeremy was pale and shaking.

"I… I'll think of something… Do we have a budget?" he asked.

Scott nodded and handed him some papers, smiling lightly.

"I knew I could count on you the day you started working here," he sighed with content.


	14. Another Night 3

_The anger was overwhelming; it was agony, but he couldn't break away from it. He was trapped inside this shell of a figure. He couldn't wake himself up from this one, as though someone was forcing him to watch from inside. He wasn't in control._

_**Give Gifts.**_

_With a laugh, he moved to each of the mangled, bloodied, limp children and gave them each a small present. He was so happy to see them… Why was he so happy? Why was the anger so painful?_

_**Give Life.**_

_The children were cold on the ground. He laughed again. He blinked. He could see them. The black figures that loomed over the bodies; the spirits. They were upset; panicking._

_It was perfect._

_**He did this before.**_

_The eldest looked up and stared at him. Tears fell from her eyes._

"_**I want to go home**__," she said._

_**He killed you. All of you. And he's done it before. He'll get away again.**_

"_**Why? I don't know what I did wrong**_…" _sobbed one of the younger boys._

_**I can help you. You can all help me in return.**_

_They were Backstage._

_He picked up the body of the eldest, blood dripping from her fingers. He removed Freddy's head and stuffed her body inside, only struggling slightly as her body was more matured and had difficulty squeezing in with the crossbeams and endoskeleton. Once she was fit snuggly inside, he put Freddy's head back on, capping her in._

_**I can help all of you.**_

_She took the sobbing boy's body, stuffing whatever came out back into it, before removing Bonnie's head and dropping his small body inside. It easily conformed to the small space. Bonnie's head held him inside._

_Next, he took the body of another boy, one that was far too in shock to do anything, and stuffed it into Chica's body. It was a tight fit around the legs and arms, the boy having been incredibly fit in life, but he made it work. He placed Chica's head on before moving on._

"_**I'm not going inside of him**__," hissed the small girl._

_He wasn't listening. He was dragging her body across the ground towards Foxy._

"_**Stop; I want to go**__," she growled._

_He took Foxy's head off._

"_**Stop**__!" she shouted, smacking him across the face. He collapsed, grabbing at his right eye. It burned; it was real, there was blood… He laughed and stuffed her body into the suit, sealing her in with Foxy's head._

_**Now you. I know you're hiding.**_

_He turned around and-_

"Mike..?" Jeremy huffed, bolting upright in bed. He could have sworn he had seen Mike… He didn't have the time to think much of it before he shouted in pain, grabbing his eye. He writhed; it was like something had cut him. Pulling his hand away he found blood. "Jesus, what the hell…"

Jeremy got up, stumbling out of his bedroom. The pain was unbearable; like a searing streak of flame across his face. He looked in the mirror and shouted in fear; there were two long gashes over his right eye that reached from the top of his eyebrow to the bottom of the eye socket.

"Jeremy, lad; everythin' okay?" asked a worried voice; it was Vixen, a white pirate fox animatronic with bright yellow eyes, rosy pink cheeks, and lipstick. She stopped and clasped her hands to her mouth. "Son of a sailor, what happened to yeh', lad?"

"Get me the first aid kit," he yelled, falling to his knees. He huffed, scrabbling up to the sink, turning it on.

"Jeremy, Vixen said you're bleeding!" Bonbon called panickedly into the bathroom. He yipped in surprise before grabbing Jeremy and hugging him close. "Shoosh, everything will be okay; just calm down and breathe. Just stay with me, buddy…"

"Bonbon… L-let go," Jeremy choked out, his back cracking at how tightly the rabbit was clutching him.

"Jeremy..!" shouted Toy Chica's voice. She bustled in, squishing herself in next to Bonbon. "I came as soon as I heard; what did you do? What happened? Oh I hope it doesn't scar…" she yammered, hugging him as well.

"_Hello_!" BB called from below. In his hand was a first aid kit. He giggled lightly before handing it Jeremy, who struggled between the two panicked animatronics to get it.

"Thanks, bud," Jeremy huffed, patting the small android on the head before scampering into the living room.

"Jeremy, let me disinfect it; just sit down and let me do it," Bonbon fussed, pushing Jeremy onto the couch as he ripped the kit from his hands.

"Let _me_ do it, you're being too rough on him! It takes a lady's touch," Toy Chica argued, shoving Bonbon out of the way. She cracked open the first aid and got out some germicide wipes. "This might sting a little, Jeremy, just hang tight…"

"I want to help!" Bonbon whined, crossing his arms.

Toy Chica rolled her eyes before pressing the moist pad to Jeremy's wound, making him wince and clutch the arm of the couch. She handed Bonbon a roll of gauze.

"You can put that on when I'm done," she grumbled, making sure to wipe down the whole wound. Bonbon didn't look entirely satisfied, though sighed and waited for her to finish. Jeremy squirmed and cursed at the stinging, but couldn't help but to smile at them.

"What's going on?" Frederick mumbled incoherently as he stumbled drunkenly into the room.

"Jeremy's hurt," Bonbon answered, wrapping the gauze around Jeremy's eye.

Frederick raised an eyebrow and examined him before whistling sharply.

"That's a dandy…" he commented with a smirk. "What happened?"

"Yeah, what _did_ you do, Jeremy?" Toy Chica asked, cocking her head to the side. "That's pretty nasty…"

"Yeh' didn't do that ter' yer'self, did yeh'?" Vixen asked worriedly as she joined the gang in the room.

Jeremy rolled his eyes at them with annoyance, but started laughing.

"No, I didn't," he answered as Bonbon finished up patching up his eye. "I… Don't really know how it happened..."

"Why are you laughing? This is serious!" Bonbon fumed, frowning. "Your face doesn't just split apart at random like that!"

"I'm laughing because you guys are ridiculous," Jeremy snickered, standing up. "Go back to doing whatever you were doing, huh? I've got some stuff I need to do," he sighed, shooing them back down the hall towards their rooms. He dodged that comment with an abrupt subject change.

"But, Jeremy-" Bonbon started to object.

"No buts; Go charge yourselves or something," he interrupted, slamming the door on them. With a smile, he ran to the dining room table and grabbed the budget papers. He had an idea; it was going to take a lot of convincing, but he was sure the family would jump right on the idea if it meant they got the chance to entertain children again.

_Family? No, they're not my family… Are they?_

Jeremy stood for a moment. He was certain the animatronics did not see him as a family member, but… They were, in a way, a family; if he were to be entirely truthful with himself, he would even say…

_I love them…_

He laughed disbelievingly, but it was true. He had adopted them, or rather, saved them from being dismantled and destroyed to be used as scrap metal for toasters, or something along those lines. They had been living together for about seven years… They were always fussing over him, whether it be about his love life to todays bought of poltergeist-like activity.

^xx..oo..xx^

"Tonight's when things get real," Mike explained, pulling Dana off to the side to confide in her the wisdom he had gained from his seven days of experience a year previous. "No messing around; keep your eyes and ears open."

"Yes, I'm sure she'll take it to heart," Jeremy huffed with the roll of his eyes. "Mike, if anything, you should be taking advice from her; she's had a whole week of training from me, and so far she's only goofed up once."

"Twice if you count my first night…" she mumbled, blushing as she glanced to the side. "Thanks for the advice though, Mike…"

Mike nodded with a smug grin, crossing his arms as he closed the right door. Chica could be heard babbling in disbelief at his accuracy outside the door. Jeremy sighed aggravatedly at Mike's inconsistent personality, but couldn't help but to be a bit proud of him; he was starting to feel a bit at ease with leaving Dana in his care once the week ended and he returned to day shift.

"Hey, Jeremy, what did Scott want with you yesterday?" Mike asked, checking the monitor. Dana perked her attention towards their conversation.

Jeremy checked the right light, shrugging nervously. Scott hadn't specifically told him not to tell anyone, but he was sure with such big and devastating news, the manager would prefer for it to remain just between them.

"Nothing important, really…" Jeremy lied, rubbing the back of his arm.

"Really? Then why did he close both the doors?" Mike questioned, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Maybe because he doesn't trust you?" Jeremy countered. It came out harsher than he intended, and Mike frowned upsetly before looking back to the monitor.

"I was just wondering…" He mumbled.

_I didn't mean to hurt his feelings…_

"Um… Since we're asking questions and all," Dana started, attempting to change the subject while not entirely veering off topic, "Jeremy, what did you do to your face?" she burst. "It looks like you were attacked by Freddy Krueger or something…"

_Freddy Krueger… Jesus, Dana, you're nearly spot on._

"Um… Just… An accident at home…" he mumbled, turning away from them. His face still had gauze wrapped around it, but he was sure blood was visible through the bandages. He wished he didn't have to babysit them at work; he prefered sleeping at night rather than during the day, and he could live without their childish curiosity and attitude. "What time is it, Mike?"

"Its 2; Chica and Bonnie are on the prowl… Did we ever get that door fixed..?" Mike reported, glancing to Dana's side. She nervously moved away from the opening.

"I… I don't know, I forgot to mention it to Scott," Jeremy sighed. He walked over and tried to close the door and flicker the lights, but it was to no avail. "Nope, looks like its still broken…"

"What are we going to do if Bonnie shows up?" Dana whimpered, stepping over into a corner.

"Relax, I'm sure Foxy is still looking out for us," Mike said reassuringly with a smile. Dana sighed and managed a smile as well.

"Y-yeah… I'm sure you're right…" she stammered, straightening up as she took a breath. "I want to try again; Jeremy, can I do your door?"

Jeremy's eyes widened at her newfound courage and stepped to the side. The only way she could get better was to let her gain experience from work; who was he to deny her the opportunity to do so? Dana smiled proudly and manned the door in Jeremy's place; having his trust filled her with a contagious euphoria that seemingly eased the tension that had accumulated in the room. The three of them were each occupied with something to do; Mike watching the camera, Dana guarding the right door, and Jeremy recording their progress on a report due back to Scott at the end of the week.

**Works well within a team: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5**

Jeremy watched the two for a moment before shrugging and circling a 4 for Mike and a 3 for Dana. Mike was good at cheering her on and keeping her motivated, and he did a decent job of keeping an eye on things with the monitor. Dana, on the other hand, was well reserved to herself and took their failures personally; despite this, however, she was willing to keep trying until she got it right and easily learned from her mistakes. They seemed to balance each other out.

"What time is it, Mike?" Jeremy asked, looking out the left door. He spotted Foxy peering back at him through the curtains at Pirate's Cove; he waved nervously and Foxy waved back.

"It's about a quarter to 6," Mike replied.

"What?" Dana asked, blushing with embarrassment. She didn't seem to understand.

"It's 5:45," Mike reiterated with a snicker.

Jeremy was about to laugh before a loud shouting could be heard down the hall. He quickly looked out the door to see Bonnie flinging Foxy off of himself before charging towards the door. Jeremy slammed the door button in hopes that it would miraculously slam shut, but it did not. He tried vainly to pull it closed manually, but Bonnie was already there. The purple rabbit shoved his way inside with a sinister glare.

"Bring her back," Bonnie growled at Mike. "You took her away from me; bring her back!"

Mike looked utterly confused.

"What are you talking about?" Mike asked desperately, only to have Bonnie grab him by the collar of his uniform. He winced as he dangled helplessly from Bonnie's hands.

"You know exactly wh-what I'm ta-tal-talking about! Ever since you showed up, it hasn't been the same… Sh-she's gone because of you!" he barked, oil seeping from his dark, black eyes. "I miss her…"

"Who?" Mike pleaded. He gave a worried look to Jeremy, who could only watch from below. He wasn't strong enough to take on a robot; he had already made that mistake last year and he had the medical bills to prove it.

"Jen!" Bonnie shouted. "Jenny, Jennifer… My _Jen_! She was mine… She's gone because you had to go and t-t-tamper with us! Why, Mike? Why did you come back?"

_Jen?_

"Bonnie, was Jen…" Jeremy started, taking a step towards him. Dana could be heard quivering under the desk as she hid. "Was… She… The girl who was stuffed inside of Foxy?"

Bonnie froze and Mike fell to the ground. He turned to look at Jeremy.

"How do you know about that?" he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

Jeremy sighed and took his bandages off.

"I think I met her… But… You keep saying she's gone? Where'd she go? What happened?" Jeremy questioned, crossing his arms.

"I don't have to answer that," Bonnie huffed, though he pressed his cold hand against Jeremy's face, gazing longingly at the wound. Mike was hyperventilating on the ground, soaking his clothes in sweat. "It was because of him… We caught him… We used Foxy's suit, remember? She… Left… I didn't realize it until last night when… When…"

"When Foxy threw you out of the room," Jeremy finished. "Bonnie-"

"Nathan. My name is Nathan. I liked her…" Bonnie corrected, his voice altering to that of a young boy's. He sniffled and straightened his tie. "I want her back, if that isn't too much to ask. I won't hurt you if you can do that for me."

Mike stood up and frowned.

"Why would you want her to come back here and suffer?" he questioned.

Bonnie's eyes lit up with anger as he turned to glare at the young guard.

"I don't want her to suffer! I don't want to be here without her; I don't want her to be out there alone!"

"So you're being selfish?" Mike raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

Bonnie (or rather Nathan) opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He looked the ground.

"Instead of making her come back here, why don't you go join her?" Mike suggested.

"I could never do that!" Bonnie protested. "I can't leave the others behind, especially not my brother!"

"Then by all means, get them to come with you," Jeremy stated.

"I don't even know how I would be able to leave…" Bonnie huffed anxiously. It was obvious the thought of joining her had never crossed his mind. He hid it well, but the thought of being able to leave Freddy's was exciting him.

"I… Have no idea what's going on, but… If taking off Foxy's suit freed… Jen was it? Then wouldn't that mean that we'd just have to take Bonnie's off to free Nathan?" Dana's quivering voice called out from under the desk. She poked her head out and looked up at Bonnie.

"Its not that simple…" Bonnie started before he glanced to the side. "I mean… It shouldn't be… Would that? Hmm… I… I don't think…" he thought for a moment and sighed.

"You don't like it here, do you Nathan?" Dana asked stepping up to the animatronic. He shook his head.

"_She_ keeps us here… We can't leave unless _she_ lets us leave… But no, I don't like it here… I've been here for so long…" he whimpered in response. "I… Want to go… Be with her… But my brother! I can't leave him here, and I can't leave her here either…"

"Nathan-" Jeremy began to protest, only to be interrupted by the donging of a clock and the recorded cheering of children. Bonnie gave a dismal look before he turned and rushed out of the room. The three security guards peered after him; Foxy could be seen dragging himself back to the 'Cove, though he looked towards and them and gave a visible sigh of relief.

"I want an explanation for this. Right. Now," Dana demanded.

Mike and Jeremy looked at each other and sighed.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**Sorry for the long wait! I've been working on a Valentine's Day request for someone and my school schedule has been so messed up that I haven't had the time to work on this chapter as much as I had wanted to! But yeah, thanks for those of you who messaged me about it, it makes my day knowing that you guys love this enough to PM me and remind me to work on it! Hahahah...**

**Uh...**

**Happy (early) Valentine's Day guys!**

**~Admin LP**


	15. Another Night 4

_The fan whirred loudly on the desk. His vision was beginning to clear up. This place was familiar to him, as though he had been here before. He held something in his hands, but he set it down and looked around the room._

_He froze._

_He _had _been here before._

_Seven years ago this place had been his office._

_He looked at his hands; they were smaller than he remembered. He rubbed his chin, but found none of the familiar stubble. He rubbed his eye, but the wound was gone. He jumped to his feet; he felt quicker, more youthful. Grabbing the object, the monitor, he looked into its empty screen and saw his face._

_He was, indeed, much younger than he remembered._

"_**What's going on**__?" he stammered, dropping the monitor to the ground._

_He checked the Left and Right Air Vent for anyone, but found no one there. He grabbed the flashlight from his utility belt and flickered the light down the hall; where he would normally have seen Foxy, he saw the Marionette. Knowing it wouldn't do him much good, he grabbed his trusty Freddy mask and slipped it over his head before crawling under the desk._

_**Save them.**_

_He heard it clear as day._

_He peered up over the desk and saw the Marionette looking at him. It outstretched a hand, as if it wanted him to take it._

_He did._

_The Marionette led him out of the Office and down the Hall. He glanced into the Parts and Services Area, spotting the Originals strewn helplessly in disrepair about the room; they didn't seem active. In the Hall, he saw a shadowed, yellow figure; it sent a shiver down his back. The Marionette tugged gently on his hand._

_**Save them.**_

_It… Looked like Mike?_

"_**Mike**__?_ _**Is that you**__?" he whispered, pulling his hand away from the Marionette. He reached a hand out to touch him, but it faded away. He stepped away from it and adjusted his hat; his sweat was making it stick awkwardly to his head._

_The Marionette took his hand again and led him down another Hall. They passed through a Party Room, but he broke away from the Marionette once more to rush to the Show Stage; there was a trail of blood that led into the room, and when he reached its end, he found the crippled body of a small, familiar girl._

_He stepped up to her and knelt to the ground. He lifted her up and hugged her close to his chest. He cried. Through his tears, he looked up at the Toys. They didn't seem active. It was better that way._

_He felt her arms wrap around him._

_He pushed her away slightly._

_She was smiling at him._

"_**Save them like he saved me**__," she whispered. She faded away._

_He looked back to the Marionette, who was patiently waiting for him in the other room. He began to approach it. It laughed and went on without him. He picked up the pace, only to freeze._

_Someone was there._

_A man in purple was looming over the battered and bloody body of a young, brunette girl. He stood up and turned to face him. He grinned widely and wiped her blood from the corner of his mouth. At his feet, apparently lifeless, was the Marionette._

_He took a step back._

_**This is… Just a dream… He can't see me… **_

_The man laughed and walked over. He seemed… So familiar to him..._

"_**Listen here, boy. You think you can help them? You're wrong**__," he hissed and grabbed his shoulder with a crushing grip. "__**You'll never be able to help them. You can't save them. You can't**__."_

_He tried to run away, but the man laughed and chased after him. He didn't know where he was going; he tripped and fell over Vixen, the Mangle's, body. She stirred for a moment before lying limply in her pile of useless parts. He panted and looked up at the Purple Man._

"_**You can't**__,"_

Jeremy woke up. He didn't feel like getting out of bed. He knew that face… That grinning, laughing, purple face… He just couldn't place it.

He sat up.

_If I know that face, then that means I know who it is. I know who the killer is._

He grinned, but then frowned again. It didn't matter that he knew who it was, the culprit had already been caught and convicted years ago before he was even working at Freddy's.

_Unless… They got the wrong guy?_

Jeremy shook his head and placed his face in his hands. What was he going to even do with this information? The only one who could possibly help him make any sense of it was Mike.

_He's been in the nightmares too._

What did Mike have to do with any of this? There was something that boy wasn't telling him, he was certain of it. The sudden changes in personality, his reluctance to open up to him… There was only one significant connection he could make, and that was The Bite of '87, but he wasn't sure what exactly that had to do with anything.

_There's too many missing pieces…_

Jeremy attempted to put the story together himself; he rummaged through his nightstand and pulled out a notepad and pencil. He ripped off the front sheet, which had some scribbles on it from way back when he had just started working at Freddy's. He scanned them over for a moment, getting a sudden stab of nostalgia, before stuffing them back inside of the nightstand.

_So what do we have so far?_

The original Freddy, the one from the first restaurant, saw the kid get murdered outside by the Purple Man; that nightmare ended with the Marionette. Foxy was entertaining the five children, Nathan, Jen, Nathan's brother, and two other children, who ended up getting murdered by the Purple Man as well; Foxy finished off that nightmare. The Marionette stuffed their bodies into the animatronic suits, Jen being placed inside of Foxy's, Nathan inside of Bonnie's, a boy inside of Chica's, a girl inside of Freddy, and for the last boy… He wasn't sure what happened to him; it ended with him just thinking about Mike. Tonight he was himself wearing the Freddy mask following the Marionette through the old restaurant from '87; he recalled seeing Mike again, and had personally encountered Jen and the Purple Man. He wasn't sure how that nightmare had ended, all he could remember was the Purple Man telling him that he couldn't save the children.

He gritted his teeth and set the notes down on the nightstand. He got out of bed and stormed out of his bedroom.

"And it looks like you are _not _the father!"

"What!" Bonbon shouted at the tv. He turned to see Jeremy stalking out from the hallway. "Jeremy, can you believe this? Humans, I swear-"

"Yeah, Bonbon, I'm a little busy for Maury right now," Jeremy huffed, shoving him to the side. He grabbed a package of pop-tarts from the cupboard and tromped into the bathroom. He started up a warm shower and got out the necessary materials needed for shaving (he had to admit, his chin stubble was on the verge of becoming a full-out beard). He took a large chunk out of his poptart, only to be interrupted by a loud banging on the door.

"Jeremy! I forgot, we needed to talk to you about something!" Bonbon's voice called from the other side. "It's really important; we saw those papers on the table..!"

Jeremy sighed as he began to disrobe.

"Can it wait until I'm done?" he barked.

"Yeah, I guess," Bonbon squeaked. His voice was full of excitement. "I can't believe you're going to get us to come back! I've been looking for my guitar, I'm sure its covered in dust and needs retuning… Oh, do you think the kids'll like me still?"

Jeremy laughed quietly and got into the shower as Bonbon yammered away on the other side of the door.

^xx..oo..xx^

Jeremy was driving Mike to the Pizzeria again. There was an uneasiness in the car; it was silent, and with what happened the other night, combined with the nightmares he had been having, Jeremy was hesitant to break it this time. He glanced over to Mike, who was staring mindlessly out the window. He was certain Mike knew something.

"Hey, can we talk?" Jeremy finally asked. Mike looked over and shrugged.

"Sure," Mike huffed in response. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Okay, so…" Jeremy started, biting his lip nervously. "Listen. Last year… I saw your clipboard. With the news articles about the restaurant. Where did you get them?"

Mike stiffened and rubbed at his elbow. He didn't answer.

"What? You want me to buy the information off of you?" Jeremy asked with a tone of slight desperation.

"Why is it important to you?" Mike questioned with a glare.

"Mike, I swear… Please, it's important," Jeremy insisted. "I've been… Okay, just… Here me out okay? I don't know what's going on; I don't know if it's real, or if I just need to see a therapist or something… I've been having nightmares, or visions, or… God… Mike, please, just-"

"Okay," Mike cut him off and sighed loudly. "You're not crazy; It happened to me too. The visions… That's where I got the articles. This Golden Freddy thing gave them to me, but… I could never figure out what they meant; all I really got out of them was that some kids were killed and stuffed inside the suits, and then I found out for myself that they were actually possessing the animatronics and making them kill off the night security."

"Mike, do… Do you think I could see those articles again?" Jeremy asked. His palms were sweaty with anticipation, and he couldn't help but to smile. He had been right about him all along.

"Uh, you can keep them? I don't think I can get much more out of them," Mike replied, tugging the sheets from his handy clipboard; he was never without the thing. He was silent a moment. "What are your nightmares like?"

Jeremy shrugged as they pulled up into the parking lot.

"They're usually just me seeing through the eyes of the animatronics," he bit his lip before adding. "I've… Seen you in a few of them. And that… What did you call it? Golden Freddy? He was in one, too…"

Mike snickered.

"That thing always scared me. I think it tried to talk to me a few times, but I could never tell what he was saying," Mike recalled nervously. "Maybe he's moved on from me and on to you?"

They both laughed, though Jeremy couldn't help but to feel his stomach sink inside him. Maybe it had moved on to him. If it had, then… What could it possibly want? He was a good employee; he had never hurt a kid in his life, he was dedicated to his work... What had he done wrong to provoke this thing? He had only ever seen it once, but…

He sighed in resignation before taking the articles from Mike and getting out of the car.

^xx..oo..xx^

"Hey, Dana," they both greeted in unison. They glanced at each other in confusion, though Mike slugged Jeremy in the arm and demanded he owed him a Coke later on.

"Hey, guys," she nervously returned, giggling at the two of them. "Nice to see you're actually a little early today."

Mike rolled his eyes, though Jeremy couldn't help but to laugh along with her. They had been cutting it close nearly every day this week; for once they actually had some time to relax before the animatronics came after them. He checked the left door, though found it was still busted.

"Remind me to ask Scott to fix that," he told Mike. He nodded and took his seat in the swivel chair.

"I brought my guitar in today…" Dana squeaked out. She pointed into the corner where there sat a wooden acoustic. "I wanted to play, and I know Bonnie didn't like me messing with his, so… Um…"

"Were you going to play for us?" Jeremy asked with an eyebrow raised. He remembered her concert from the first night; she was pretty good at playing, as he recalled.

She blushed and shrugged.

"If you're okay with it. I thought it might make it easier getting through the night since all we ever hear is that stupid fan and Chica banging around in the kitchen," she explained, walking over to claim her guitar. "You know, its funny… Bonnie was actually the reason I decided to learn how to play…"

"Really? I didn't think anyone really liked him," Mike commented as he crossed his arms. "Usually the favorites are either Foxy or Freddy; It's obvious who my favorite is already, but still."

"Yeah, what's that about? Foxy's been Triple O for years since he killed that one kid… Why is he still around?" she asked, strumming a few notes. She looked up at Mike, only to recoil in fear at the look he was giving her.

"He never killed anyone…" Mike grumbled darkly. "He never meant to hurt anyone; it was an accident."

"But… Still… Even if it was… Shouldn't they have scrapped him?" Dana reluctantly argued. "I mean… That poor kid-"

"Dana-" Jeremy started, trying to get her to shut up. She was about to send Mike over the edge, and he had been hoping the three of them would get to bond before work started.

"No! They shouldn't have scrapped him!" Mike shouted, tears starting to well in his eyes. He bit his lip and glanced to the side. "It was an accident, and I never blamed him for what he did..!"

"Why would you have? Its not like its _you_ that got your head bitten off," she mumbled quietly, beginning to play a bit quietly on her guitar. The tune was calming, but Mike didn't seem to hear it.

"Are you honestly that blind?" Mike barked, ripping his hat from his head. His eyes were dark with hurt and anger. "It _was _me, you idiot! I'm sick and tired of this _poor kid_ crap and people always dissing on Foxy about it; if a twelve year-old can forgive him, why can't full-grown adults do the same? It's people like you-"

"Lad! That's quite enough outta' you," shouted Foxy's voice. Soon assuming his position at the door, the animatronic fox lunged at Mike and restrained his thrashing body.

Dana was standing quietly in place, looking to the ground with a shattered look in her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but only succeeded in letting out a stifled sob before starting to cry.

Jeremy sighed and brought her into a hug in an attempt to cheer her up.

"You didn't know; its okay…" he whispered, glancing over to where Foxy was apparently doing the same thing to Mike. He sat her down in her corner before going over to check the monitor.

The Show Stage was empty. Pirate's Cove was wide open, though none of the animatronics were in there (the only one ever seen in there was Foxy, but he was in the Office already, making this information irrelevant). The Dining Area was also void of any animatronic "life", as well as the Bathrooms and the Kitchen. Bonnie and Chica were finally found conversing in the Backstage area, though the audio was apparently disabled; Jeremy took an educated guess (based on the black orbs that had taken place of Bonnie's normally red-pupiled eyes) and assumed that Bonnie was not actually present, and that in his stead was Nathan .

_That means his brother was the boy stuffed inside of Chica._

They seemed to be in a rather heated discussion, and despite his curiosity, he knew it would be best to let them have their privacy and look for Freddy instead.

The sound of laughter came from the East Hallway, and Jeremy hurriedly side-stepped past Foxy and Mike to slam the door shut. He flickered the light and jumped back, tripping over the lump of bodies on the floor at the sight of Freddy (or whoever it was currently in possession of his body). His head twitched and convulsed, but his face was frozen in a menacing glare, one he had not ever seen the normally happy-go-lucky bear make before.

"Toreador, love," called Freddy's voice as he glared into the window. "We have unfinished business."

With Jeremy's heavy form toppling over them, Foxy had momentarily released Mike, allowing him to break free of his comforting embrace. The young security guard stood trembling at the sight of Freddy. Freddy grinned at the look of terror on his face.

"Go away!" Mike yelled at him.

"Unfinished b-business," Freddy sang, tsking with the waggle of his finger.

"I have no _business_ with you at all! You tried to kill me already, and you _failed_; Just leave me alone!" Mike shouted panickedly.

"_Toreador, on guard! Toreador! Toreador-_"

"Shut up, you stupid bear!" Mike yelled, clasping his hands to his ears.

"_And think well, yes think as you are fighting that a dark eye is watching you-"_

Dana blinked before grabbing her guitar and joining into Freddy's song. Mike shot her a desperate glance.

"_and that love is waiting for you, Toreador, love, love is waiting for you_."

Dana and Freddy performed a second time together. She glanced to Mike before nibbling the inside of her cheek and opening the door; Jeremy shouted at her, but noticed that her playing seemed to have an effect on Freddy. His eyes, that were much like in the state of Bonnie's, went from the demented black orbs to their normal, shining blue. He trailed after her, and she seemed to be leading him back to the Show Stage.

"That's… New…" Foxy whispered with his eyepatch flipped up.

"Go get her, please…" Jeremy pleaded hoarsely. Foxy nodded quickly and trotted after the two. In a silent horror, Jeremy picked up the monitor to view what was happening.

"There you go, Freddy," came Dana's voice from the small screen. Mike peered over Jeremy's shoulder to watch as well.

"That was so much fun!" Freddy exclaimed happily, clambering jovially onto the Stage. "You play that guitar so well; Bonnie'd better watch out you don't repla-pla-place him!" he laughed.

Dana laughed along nervously, checking behind her. Foxy appeared in view.

"Foxy!" Freddy acknowledged him, though his expression showed unease at the sight of the pirate.

"Aye', hello, Cap'n Fazbear," Foxy greeted. "I just came ter' lead the lass back to 'er office."

Freddy gave a sorrowful look and nodded.

"How are you today? I saw Bonnie-"

"Ain't nothin' that can keep this ol' sailor down," Foxy interrupted, taking Dana by the hand. "I'm fine."

"Oh…" Freddy looked down. "Foxy-"

"I… Better get her back… Don't want the lass ter' get in trouble," Foxy interrupted again, starting to inch away from Freddy.

Freddy nodded before looking sadly into the camera. He looked like he had something to say, but his blue eyes grew cold and black again. He frowned spitefully once more.

Foxy and Dana appeared at the door and entered the office. Mike quickly rushed over and grabbed Dana firmly by the arms, glaring at her.

"Are you stupid or something?" Mike snapped at her. She was about to answer, a look of shame painted on her face, before Mike silenced her with a tight hug. Jeremy watched and gave Foxy a look of confusion, who only returned it with a shrug. "That was… Really cool…"

"Um… Thanks…" Dana mustered out, smiling slightly as she hesitantly hugged him back. Mike quickly shoved her away, some sweat forming on his forehead.

"I'm still mad at you," he huffed, looking away from her. He noticed Jeremy looking at him and only frowned and stuck his tongue out. He swiped the monitor from Jeremy's hands and sat slouched in the swivel chair as he flicked through the cameras.

Jeremy was far too lost for words.

_What just happened?_

Not only did Dana have the ability to create a paradox in the animatronics, but she had the ability to temporarily soothe the spirits inside of them as well. To go along with that, what was up with Mike and Freddy, or whoever that spirit was inside of him? What business was he, or it, talking about?

_I need to ask him more about this…_

"Do yeh' still need me in here?" Foxy asked timidly. Jeremy broke away from his thoughts to look up at him; he was grinning widely, wagging his tail as he glanced from Mike to Dana; it was obvious he was seeing their hug as more than it really was.

"We still have a broken door; you can stick around if you want," Jeremy replied, glancing towards the West Hallway. "I'm sure Dana can handle it, though."

She looked up from the corner she was sitting in and smiled brightly.


	16. Another Night 5

"They're right in here," Jeremy instructed, leading the mechanic and Scott into the garage to where the animatronics were. He was smiling wide, but he was so overcome with exhaustion it was hard to be happy for them right now. The rest were okay with being shut off for short periods of time, but it had been a group effort to get Bonbon to even let Jeremy get into his mainframe; there was just something about powering down that made him go berserk.

"Alright; this'll take me a few hours, but I'm sure I can get them in order," the man explained, looking them all over. "They look in decent shape already; they may just need some minor repairs… Shouldn't run you over about a couple hundred I'd say."

"Yeah… Just make sure you take care of Bonnie's endoskeleton for me; the lower half keeps locking up on him. I had to… Fix it myself earlier…" Jeremy began to explain before he started to nod off.

The mechanic chuckled slightly before nodding.

"They're in good hands," he replied, starting to strip the suits off of the animatronics.

"Wow…" Scott whispered. He put his hands to his mouth, shaking giddily with joy. "I never thought you'd actually kept them… Oh man, Jeremy! This is going to be great…"

Jeremy sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"So what did you have planned for them, anyways?" Scott asked, stepping up to Toy Freddy. "They're in such good shape…"

"Um… Like…" Jeremy yawned and wiped some sweat from his forehead. "Maybe a 'Throwback Thursday" thing? You know… Once a week they get to perform and the original gang gets a break… Its up to you, you're the boss, but… That's just what I was thinking..."

Scott nodded and moved onto Vixen.

"You even got Mangle in good shape! Where'd you find all the parts for her?" he exclaimed, unable to resist petting her soft, white fur.

"Lots of scrap yards and pawn shops…" Jeremy yawned.

Scott let out an exasperated sigh before dragging Jeremy into a tight, sweaty hug. Jeremy raised an eyebrow, not sure if he was supposed to hug him back or not; this was his boss, after all. The mechanic gave them a wary eye before returning to his work.

"This is going to be great… I can just feel it!" Scott exclaimed. He moved away from Jeremy, straightening out his shirt. "Er… Who's that new guard… Dana? She's _hip _and young, right? Why don't you ask her for some input, huh? In case this, uh… Doesn't work… We can have a Plan B?"

"Dana?" Jeremy questioned. "I… I guess I could…" he wasn't sure if bringing a rookie security guard into business affairs was a good idea, but if Scott thought it was okay…

"How is she doing, anyways? You think she handles the position well? I wasn't sure about her at first but…" Scott started, rubbing awkwardly at his arm. The shame of defeat still lingered on his face.

"She's doing okay; Freddy likes her I think… She played guitar for him last night," Jeremy replied. "She's a little sloppy with monitoring them, but Mike keeps her in check."

"Mike…" Scott seemed to grimace at the mention of his name. "How's he doing? He hasn't messed with them, has he?"

"No, Mike's doing great. He's focused… Hasn't really done anything wrong," Jeremy replied. He knew how mistrustful Scott was of the kid since the incident last year; this week, initially about reporting about Dana, had become a test to see if Mike would keep his position. Everything Jeremy wrote about him on the report would mean the difference between him being kept in his position, or getting the boot. Again.

Scott nodded and rubbed at his chin.

"Holy cow…" the mechanic sighed. He leaned back and rubbed his forehead.

"That doesn't sound good…" Jeremy commented, walking over to where the mechanic was. He was examining Bonbon first.

"Um… You said something about his endoskeleton?" the mechanic recalled, pointing to the joint that connected his torso to his legs. It looked rusted to the point it would snap in half. "I think I found what was wrong with it."

Jeremy stared at it in shock.

_How did I never notice?_

"So… That's… Not a minor repair," the mechanic began to explain. "I can't fix that. If you want this one, he needs a completely new endoskeleton. I think it'll last a few weeks, but by then he'll just be crawling around on his arms…"

Scott gave Jeremy a worried glance.

"How much would that cost?" Jeremy asked nervously, biting his lower lip.

"That's hard to say; these Toy models are discontinued, and they each have their own unique endoskeletons, unlike the originals…" the mechanic explained. "You'd have to get one custom made somewhere, and that would be around… I dunno… At least a couple thousand."

Jeremy groaned and put his face in his hands.

"Even at that you'd have to wait at least a month or so for it to get done… I think your best bet would be to just scrap this one and call up one of the other locations; see if they have one you could buy off of them. It would be a hell of a lot cheaper than fixing this thing," the mechanic continued.

"I am _not_ scrapping him," Jeremy stated, frowning angrily. Throwing out Bonbon was out of the question; he was a part of the family, and replacing him would be practically impossible to even begin to consider. "If he needs a new endoskeleton, then he's getting a new endoskeleton."

"Alright; I'm just saying it takes time and money, and even then you'd have to get a technician to transfer all the memory into the new system-"

"I'm not scrapping him!" Jeremy barked.

The mechanic gave Jeremy a startled look before shrugging and moving on to Toy Chica.

"No point in me working on him then," he sighed.

Scott was staring at Jeremy in shock for a moment before chuckling lightly.

"Um… I guess I'll go then… Uh… I'm sure you're tired after watching those two kids," Scott laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Thanks for letting me come to check them out; I'll get out of your hair, let you get some sleep… Your paycheck is on the table. Er… Happy Independence Day, all that… Yeah…"

Scott hurriedly left the house.

Jeremy yawned and went into the living room where he collapsed face-first into the couch and fell asleep.

^^xx..oo..xx^

"Don't hold it so close to yer' face!"

BB laughed loudly as he swirled the sparkler around. Vixen was scolding him for not handling it safely, but he didn't much seem to care; he was having far too much fun worrying her than playing with the sparkler itself. She chased him around the yard in an attempt to get it away from him, but even as it began to die out, Jeremy had another one lit and ready for him.

"I wish yeh' wouldn't encourage him," she growled at Jeremy, a scowl etched on her face.

"Relax; he's just having fun," Jeremy remarked. "Here, why don't you have one?" he offered, starting to light one up.

She drew her ears back defiantly, though took it from Jeremy anyways.

"Hey, Jeremy; can I light one of these..?"

Jeremy looked over to the patio where Frederick was holding up a pack of bottle rockets. He was grinning devilishly and was raising his eyebrows.

"I… Don't think I should let you do that; how many bottles of Pennz have you drunk today?" Jeremy asked, putting his hands on his hips.

Frederick glanced nervously to the side.

"Just one… But-"

"Even so," Bonbon interjected, cutting him off while also preventing Jeremy to speak. "We wouldn't want _you _to end up being the one exploding at the end."

Frederick gave an aggravated sigh.

"Fine, then… How about you light one up then?" he suggested, tossing Jeremy the pack. "I'm getting tired of seeing that kid run around like an idiot; that's all I'm ever going to see now, anyways…"

Jeremy snickered and nodded.

"Okay, I guess. Hand me my Sprite then, will ya'?" he asked, tearing the package open.

"I've got it!" Bonbon sang, jumping up from where he was previously sitting.

"Oh, wait! Bonbon-" Jeremy started panickedly. He bit his lip nervously as the animatronic rabbit grabbed the can of soda and rushed over to give it to him. He shakily took it. "Um… Th-thanks…"

"No problem!" he returned, pounding back to his seat.

Jeremy finished off the can and placed a rocket inside.

He hadn't had the heart to tell Bonbon about his… Issue… He knew if he found out, he would have a major cow; the guy didn't like to be turned off, but switching into a different body? That was out of the question. If he had the choice, Jeremy was certain he would choose to be a disembodied head rather than switch into a different endoskeleton. He was going to just have to wait until last minute and take him by surprise.

The rocket shot up into the air and exploded in a cascade of bright red and blue sparks. The animatronics stared in awe as Jeremy lit up another one to join it, this one sparkling yellow and green.

He checked his watch.

It was time to go pick up Mike.

It was his last night watching him and Dana at work.

He watched as a third rocket fired up into the sky, and he couldn't help but to feel a sense of loss. He was going to miss being around them… Even so, he felt okay with leaving Dana in Mike's care; or… Was he leaving Mike in Dana's care..?

_Bah, I don't know…_

He handed Toy Chica the package of bottle rockets and grabbed his hat off of the patio table.

"Jeremy..? Are you okay?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"I… Yeah, I'm fine…" he replied. "Um… Don't fire those at anyone; they only go into the sky, got it?"

She nodded and twirled one in her hand.

"I might be late coming home; if something happens, call me at work… If you can't get a hold of me-"

"I know, I know; Call Fritz. This isn't our first time alone, Jeremy. We'll be okay!" she said in an attempt to reassure him. She hugged him close. "Thank you so much for everything…"

He hugged her back, trying to hold back his tears.

"Jeremy, we still have two days left here," she snickered, patting the back of his head.

"I know… But… This is our last Fourth together and I'm going to be at work," he explained, sniffling as he broke their hug, laughing slightly. "I'm such a jerk…"

"Hey; you're not a jerk," Frederick broke in. He appeared to have been eavesdropping. "You took us in and let us live with you for 7 years; I don't know any humans that would ever do that for us…"

"And you fixed me up good as new!" Vixen joined in, her ears raised as she smiled warmly at him.

"You fixed us all, Jeremy. Physically and… Otherwise," Bonbon added. "You made us a family."

"_We love you_," BB said, clinging to Jeremy's leg.

He stared at all of them and smiled. He buried his face into Toy Chica's chest as they all swarmed around him in a group hug. Even Frederick joined in, and usually he wasn't up for something so… _mushy_.

"I… I love you guys too..." he mustered out, squeezing an arm through the mesh of fur and metal to wipe his tears away.

^xx..oo..xx^

Jeremy flicked through the cameras. The Show Stage was full with Bonnie and Chica staring into the camera, though Freddy had yet to move. Foxy was poking out of Pirate's Cove, but instead of his sinister glaring, he smiled and waved at the camera.

"Well?" Dana asked, peering out the left door.

"Bonnie and Chica are staring at the camera, but that's about it," Jeremy reported.

"Creepers…" Mike mumbled, throwing some poppers at the wall.

"Can you please not do that tonight?" Jeremy huffed crossly. Mike had surprised him several times with those things, and it was beginning to be a bit irritating. Mike only laughed and tossed a few more into the hallway.

"C'mon, Mike; he asked nicely," Dana joined, nervously glancing into the hallway again.

"Alright, fine," Mike resigned with a sigh. There was a loud crackle and pop that came from outside that made the three of them jump. The fireworks had been going on nearly nonstop for the majority of the night.

Dana grabbed her guitar and started to play a rather shaky rendition of America the Beautiful. She was confident tonight, though with all the loud explosions outside, she was definitely on edge tonight. She grinned nervously, peeking out the door again.

Jeremy checked the Show Stage once more; Bonnie and Chica had both fled, though Freddy still remained. He found Bonnie in the Backstage area, seemingly in deep thought. Chica was in the Dining Area, sitting with her head in her hand. Foxy was hidden away in the Pirate's Cove.

"_Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain; for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plane..._" Dana sang quietly. She was attempting to drown her own voice out with her playing. Jeremy assumed it was because she didn't like it much, but wanted to sing the song anyways, probably out of respect for the holiday.

"_Oh beautiful for pilgrim feet, whose stern impassioned stress; a thoroughfare of freedom beat across the wilderness!"_

The three of them looked to the left door; Bonnie had appeared and was timidly poking his head through. He was taking over the singing role, something Jeremy didn't think he was capable of; Bonnie wasn't programmed to be able to sing. He stepped into the room.

"Bonnie-" Jeremy started, though Foxy appeared at the window and signaled for Jeremy to not do anything. He frowned nervously, though struggled to ease in his chair.

"_America, America; May God thy gold refine,"_

Jeremy quickly turned to look at the right door, spying Mike struggling to close it. Chica stepped into the room as well, in her hands a few wires. She had broken the other door.

"_Confirm thy soul in self-control: Thy liberty in law!" _She sang.

Dana quit playing and looked at them both. Mike stepped away from Chica, though found in doing so he was closer to Bonnie, so he moved away towards the back wall. Jeremy clutched the chair firmly, sweating through his shirt.

"You know you messed up that verse?" Bonnie giggled at Chica.

She glanced to the side and frowned.

"I haven't sung that song in for-for-forever…" she huffed, crossing her arms.

The three security guards watched the two animatronics in a stunned silence. They didn't seem to want to be hurting them. The two stared at each other before sighing and stepping completely into the room, herding the three guards towards the desk.

"We're ready to go," Bonnie began to explain. Jeremy finally noticed that his and Chica's eyes were both black. It was not the animatronics before him, but the spirits of Nathan and his brother.

The three guards exchanged nervous glances.

"He convinced me the other night; I saw you watching us," came Chica's voice. It was much different than it normally sounded, deeper than her usual feminine voice. "My name is Ethan."

"H-hello… Ethan…" Jeremy greeted, extending a shaking hand. Chica cocked her head and frowned at it. Jeremy retracted his hand nervously and glanced to Dana. She was smiling slightly.

"Nathan and Ethan…" she repeated. "For some reason I'm thinking you were-"

"Twins," Bonnie finished.

"Fraternal twins," Chica corrected.

"Yeah, okay, that's cool and all, but where's Freddy? Doesn't he want to get this over with?" Mike asked; he was pale in the face and sweating like crazy. He obviously felt they were going to attack them at any second.

Chica and Bonnie exchanged nervous glances.

"Of course he does," Chica started. "Its just… _she _doesn't."

"The girl inside of Freddy?" Jeremy asked. He didn't understand… Wouldn't she _want _to move on? If he were trapped inside that suit for practically 20 years, he would definitely want to get out.

"I… We can't tell you that…" Bonnie replied quietly. "He… Doesn't know."

"He _can't _know," Chica corrected. "He can't know that we're leaving, or else _she'll _know, and… _She'd _make him do something awful."

"Who exactly is _she_?" Dana asked, crossing her arms at them. Jeremy couldn't help but to wonder the same.

"We can't tell you," Bonnie answered.

There was another eruption outside that made everyone in the room jump in surprise. The lights in the room flickered and turned off.

"Jeremy..? Why'd the power go out?" Dana asked panickedly. "I thought we were doing pretty well tonight… We don't have any power going to the doors and we haven't checked the camera-"

"Relax; I'm sure Freddy just turned it off himself," Jeremy said. He knew that wasn't exactly comforting to know, so he quickly added, "I… Think maybe he just wanted to see the fireworks better? Its okay…"

"Yeah, I'm sure thats it," Mike grumbled with the roll of his eyes.

There was silence in the room; the only thing keeping it illuminated was the light emanating from Bonnie and Chica's eyes. They looked at each other and grabbed each other's hands before nodding to the security crew. Jeremy took it as a sign they were ready to get on with what they had come for; he nudged Mike. They stepped up to the animatronics.

"Hey, Nathan…" Chica started, smiling slightly. "If you think about it… Its sort of like our own little Independence Day."

Bonnie grinned and chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess…" he replied, twiddling his thumbs as he sat down on the ground. Chica took a seat beside him.

"Ready?" Jeremy asked, turning to Mike. He hoped that it really was just as simple as taking their heads off. If it wasn't… He was sure that these boys wouldn't be all that happy with them.

"I guess so…" he replied.

They each reached forward and grabbed a head.

"Wait-" Bonnie started, grabbing Jeremy's wrist. Jeremy flinched. "You… You'll put it back on right?" he gave Jeremy a worried look.

Jeremy smiled and nodded; he recalled the time he had first started working night shift and encountered Bonnie without his face. He was worried he was going to end up that way again.

"I'll put it back on, I promise," Jeremy swore, holding up his pinky. Bonnie smiled before letting go of Jeremy's wrist. Jeremy again looked to Mike and nodded.

They pulled up.

The heads popped off.

^xx..oo..xx^

_It was black. Fuzzy… He could hear something; voices? He wasn't sure. He rubbed his eyes. It got better. He walked forward; it was bright. He was outside. This place seemed familiar…_

"_**Jeremy?**_"

_It was Mike._

_Or… It looked like Mike? A younger version of Mike? He wasn't sure. He was a glowing, golden color._

"_**What the hell is going on?**_" _Mike asked, looking around. "__**If those suckers killed us I swear-**_"

"_**I don't think we're dead, Mike**__," Jeremy said. He was right; they were outdoors. They appeared to be in a cul de sac of somesort. It was extremely familiar to him, but… Still so distant… "__**I think… This is a memory…**_"

_Mike gave a disbelieving look before shrugging._

"_**Come on, Nathan!**_"

_They both looked behind them to see a short, youthful boy standing on the sidewalk beside a bike. He was blonde._

"_**If you don't hurry up we're going to miss ...'s party!**_" _he called._

"_**What did he say..?**_" _Mike whispered to Jeremy. Jeremy shrugged; the name had been faded out. He didn't know._

"_**Wait up! I… I'm not as fast as… As you…**_" _panted a new figure. He too was a youthful boy. His hair was black._

_The blonde boy rolled his eyes and hopped back onto his bike._

"_**Ethan! I said wait up!**_" _Nathan shouted, trying to catch up to his brother._

_It went dark again._

_Disorienting…_

_He rubbed his eyes and took several steps forward. It cleared his vision… It wasn't bright like before. They were inside; at Freddy's. This one was larger than the one they currently worked at; more room, more tables… Pirate's Cove was still opened, and it was swarming with children like Jeremy had never seen before, however, it still couldn't compare to how packed the Dining Area was._

"_**Mike? Mike, where are you?**_" _Jeremy called, looking around for him. He paused as he saw Foxy trotting nearby; this was too familiar. He grew cold. Was that..?_

"_**Those are my eyes**_…" _Jeremy forced out. "__**Mike, this is bad, we have to get out of here!**_"

"_**Ai, lass, what seems ter' be troublin' yeh?**_ _**I don't bite!"**_

_Jeremy looked into the Pirate's Cove party room._

"_**This is it…" **__Jeremy winced. "__**Jesus! Mike, where the hell are you?**_"

_The golden glow…_

_That was Mike._

_He saw him, but… It didn't exactly look like Mike. He wasn't sure if it even was Mike… It was around a child, but it was so faded; he couldn't even make out what the child looked like._

_He began to ache inside. He couldn't watch them, not again. He didn't want to see them get killed; that was the one part he had been spared in his nightmares. Jeremy looked away, only to jump back; before him was the Purple Man. He was more or less a fuzzy, blurred mess, but that signature smile was still present. Jeremy was certain he couldn't be seen this time._

"_**Don't be so sure of yourself, boy**__," he whispered darkly, putting the Golden Freddy head on._

_Jeremy was dumbfounded._

_But he watched._

_He recognized Jen; she was the first to go. Her throat had been slashed open and she fell to the ground in a pool of her own blood. She had tried to protect the twins._

_Nathan was frozen in disbelief. He had not a tear on his face and he had not once shouted out. He hadn't even moved. Ethan had tried to make a run for it-_

_The Purple Man beat him to a pulp on the ground; the older girl, the brunette, tried to stop him. She shouted his name; she _knew _him. He elbowed her back and went for her next. She fought back. Her hands were red with the wounds from his knife. It lasted several minutes before she grew weak and could no longer block him._

_Once through the chest took her out._

_He laughed and turned to where Nathan and the other child were._

_Maybe Mike was watching through their eyes like he had in his nightmares?_

_The Purple Man reached for Mike-_

_Nathan pushed him out of the way._

_He was thrown to the ground on his stomach. He began to sob. The knife thrusted in and out of his back, but he didn't seem to want to die. After a few minutes of aggravating work, he gave up and went for Mike; the kid would die of blood loss eventually._

"_**Stop!**_" _Jeremy shouted, tears raining from his eyes. He tried to grabbed the Purple Man, but it was only just a memory. His hands went right through his body._

_It went black._

^xx..oo..xx^

He groggily blinked his eyes open. He didn't have time to collect himself before he was scrambling out of the office, attempting to keep himself from vomiting at the smell. He saw Dana looming in the hallway, using her hat to vainly fan the smell away. She had a trash can at her feet.

Jeremy grabbed the trash can, dry heaving as he tried to get to his feet. Dana helped him up. She had her shirt over her nose; he followed her example and did the same.

"How long has it been since they've been cleaned? God… That's the worst thing I have ever smelled in my life," she coughed out. She laughed slightly.

"Where's Mike..?" Jeremy forced out. He coughed and finally threw up into the trash can.

At the sound of his name, Mike was darting out of the room, tripping foolishly over a loose wire in the hallway and onto Jeremy. Jeremy shoved him off and finally got to his feet. He dusted his shirt off before looking back to the office.

"I'm glad we have that fan in there," he sighed. He began to laugh.

"Of all the times to be funny, you choose right now?" Mike huffed in disbelief. He started to laugh with him. "I get murdered in a ghost vision and you make a _joke_. You're un-frickin believable…"

"So…" Dana chuckled before rubbing the ground with her foot. "We have to do something about that smell… Do we have any Glade..? Its like something's-"

"Rotting, yes, we got that part down," Jeremy interrupted her. He rubbed his chin for a second. "There's nothing we can really do right now; We'll have to just put their heads back on and hope no one notices."

"That seems to be what was working for them for the past couple of years," Mike grumbled. "God… Seriously, do we have any other fans?" he tried to wave the smell away.

The clock donged and signalled that it was 6 AM. There was the usual pre recorded cheering of children. The lights flickered back on as power was restored to the restaurant. From the office stirred the headless forms of Bonnie and Chica as they started to head back towards the Show Stage.

"We should probably get them back on before Scott gets here; Dana, you think you can rush to the convenience store and buy some air freshener?" Jeremy asked, pulling his shirt over his face. Before she could reply he was rushing into the room, gagging as he went to grab Bonnie and Chica's heads.


	17. Another Night 6

"Hey, everyone in the Dining Area for a staff meeting!"

Jeremy peeked out of the Office; he was just getting ready to clock out and head home. He tossed Mike a confused glance, but the young security guard was just as lost as he was. Dana was packing together her things; she had stayed behind to help the two of them clean up after their long night.

"What do you think he wants?" Mike asked as the three of them left the Office. "You don't think he's going to publicly fire me, do you?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"Really? Have you done anything worth getting fired over?" Jeremy asked, putting his security hat back on. He knew that Scott wasn't heartless enough to do something so cruel, even if it was Mike.

The Dining Area was now full of all the restaurant's employees; day and night shift security, the janitorial staff, the children supervisors, and the kitchen personnel. They seemed to already know where to sort out and they each sat uncomfortably in the child-sized chairs. Scott stood at the head of the table and quickly went through a roll-call.

"Does he usually do this?" Dana whispered anxiously. "I need to get home soon, my grandparents will worry…"

Jeremy shook his head.

"No, he usually only does this when he has some news…" Jeremy whispered back.

"Alright! Looks like you're all here," Scott began, setting some folders down on the table before him. "As most of you know, I normally do this when I have something important to tell you so… Make sure you're all listening."

"Um… First off I'd like to bring to light that we'll be saying good-bye to one of our close family members,"

Jeremy felt Mike tense beside him.

"Our old security guard, Vincent, will be retiring in a few months; He's been around ever since this place first opened, so… Make sure you all say your goodbyes while you still can," Scott said, smiling slightly as he pointed out the figure mentioned. "He's been a good guy; I'm… Glad to have such a good security crew overall."

Jeremy looked over to Vincent. He knew the guy extremely well; he had been his mentor before he officially started the night shift. He made a mental note to stop and say goodbye to him and thank him. He had learned everything he knew from the guy…

"On the topic of our security, we have two new family members joining us; Miss. Dana Princeton and Mister Mike Schmidt! They'll be taking over night shift together," Scott added. Dana darted up from her seat, grinning widely at her acknowledgement. The staff gave Mike odd and scathing looks; like Scott, they didn't appear to trust him very much at all.

"Onto the big stuff now," Scott sighed loudly. "I've already told some of you, but… I feel now is the best time to get it out. We aren't making enough money to support the company; we have just barely enough to break it even. As I've said, I've already consulted with some of you-"

The staff were in a silent uproar, whispering panickedly to one another. Scott cleared his throat and frowned, waiting for them to quiet down so he could continue.

"As I was saying… We're just making enough to stay in operation. I've already consulted with some of you and we've come up with a few ideas and we have a budget set up. Next week we'll be closing for renovations; I'm expecting my janitorial squad to be on top of everything while that's going on. It also wouldn't be a bad idea for any of you to volunteer to help out; any dollar we can save will make all the difference."

"Will it count as overtime?"

Jeremy shot Dana a dirty look.

_Are you kidding me, Dana? Really, I swear…_

Scott gave a loud sigh.

"I… Yeah, yes; This will count as overtime," Scott answered, jotting some notes down on a sheet of paper. "Um… As I was saying… Eh, we're doing renovations, and we're holding a new weekly event that will start immediately after renovations end-"

"What exactly are we renovating?" someone asked from the children supervisor area.

"I'll get to that," Scott answered with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Our weekly event will be, as our Head of Security, Jeremy, puts it… 'Throwback Thursday'. Back in '87 he bought the old Toy models off of me, and now he's so generously donating them back to the restaurant for us to use."

Jeremy went pale. He had wished for that little fact to be left out; he had wanted to remain anonymous… He couldn't bring himself to look at Mike.

"In order to accommodate the new crew, we're going to be adding in a new area; it'll be somewhere where the kids can interact with the animatronics without the animatronics actually being in their free roaming mode. Whoever isn't performing that day will be in there," Scott explained. He pulled out a large sheet of cardboard paper with a blueprint of the restaurant's new layout.

Jeremy couldn't make himself listen anymore. He zoned out of the rest of Scott's lecture. He tried to steal a glance at Mike, but attempted to not make it seem like he was looking at him.

Mike's eyes were dark and livid with anger.

Jeremy looked away and at Dana. She seemed excited about it; she glanced at Jeremy and did a small fist-pump under the table. Jeremy snickered weakly at her.

Maybe her enthusiasm would rub off on Mike?

^xx..oo..xx^

He wasn't in the mood to sleep. He wasn't in the mood to watch tv. He wasn't in the mood to do anything.

Jeremy rubbed his bruised cheek and sighed. As soon as they had gotten in the car, Mike had slugged him once in the face and gone into Silent-Treatment mode. Jeremy understood why; it was probably a bad idea to have kept it secret from him. After all, Mike and Dana were the ones who were going to be responsible for all ten of the animatronics.

Someone stirred on the couch.

Jeremy glanced over.

"Whoah… What happened last night..?" grumbled the voice.

"Morning, Fritz," Jeremy greeted the ex-security guard. "I hope they weren't too much for you?"

Fritz's eyes went wide and he toppled off of the love seat in an avalanche of pillows and blankets. He had been wearing Jeremy's old Freddy mask, though he quickly took it off, revealing his mesh of plumy, ginger hair. He gave a nervous smile, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

"I… Eh… No, no, they were fine," Fritz explained quickly, straightening out his shirt. "They kept me up late with all those fireworks you got them and then they wanted to play Trivial Pursuit and then we did a round of Euchre- I kind of just crashed here on the couch I guess… Geez, Jeremy, I'm sorry-"

"Relax, its fine," Jeremy cut him off with a laugh. "I honestly don't care. Um… How was Bonbon? He alright?"

"He was okay. I made sure he didn't move around too much," Fritz replied, quickly starting to fold some of the blankets. He jumped in surprise, finding BB curled up snugly beneath one. Fritz huffed and rolled him off the couch. "This guy was a major pain the whole night…"

"Was he now?" Jeremy asked, raising an eyebrow at the small android. BB flickered to life and giggled. In his hands were several burnt out sparkler sticks.

"Yeah; nearly made Mangle go mad-"

"Her name is Vixen," Jeremy corrected with a frown.

"Er… Oh, yeah, sorry. I keep forgetting that… _Vixen _I mean. She kept chasing him around and he lit one of your bushes on fire. Freddy tried to put it out-"

"Frederick…"

"_Frederick_," Fritz corrected himself, giving an irritable glance to Jeremy. "Ended up making it worse, so that's when they all called me over. Um… There might be a giant burn mark on the side of your house and… Your bush is gone, Jeremy."

Jeremy sighed and laughed.

"What did he try to put it out with?" he asked.

Fritz huffed and grabbed from the table a charred, yellow, melted piece of plastic. There was no way to tell what it could be without prior knowledge.

"He didn't… He poured _Pennz_ on it?" Jeremy gasped in disbelief. He laughed even harder as he took the melted bottle. "When I find that bear I'm going to wrangle his little neck-"

"Um… Jeremy?" Fritz questioned. "He's a robot… He doesn't exactly have a neck _for _you to wrangle… They're all robots, you know?"

Jeremy gave a confused look and nodded.

"Yeah, I know," he replied. "Why?"

"Well… Its just…" Fritz let out a nervous squeak of laughter. "Sometimes I think you believe they're… You know… _Alive._ Like… Actually living, breathing people…"

Jeremy frowned.

"Yeah… Um… Well, I'm sure you've got stuff you need to be doing today," Jeremy started, quickly changing the subject. Who was Fritz to be telling him what to believe? As far as he was concerned, it was time for the guy to leave. He began to lead him to the front door.

"Oh! But, Jeremy-" Fritz started to argue.

"No buts; I'm sure I've been enough of a burden on you," Jeremy interrupted. He opened the door and shoved Fritz out. "I'll see you around!"

"Jeremy, hold on-"

Jeremy slammed the door shut. He was shaking with anger.

_Who needs people like that? Like Fritz… Or Mike! The animatronics aren't bad; they're just as human as I am… They're all different, they each have their own personalities-_

"_Jeremy?_"

He quickly glanced over to where BB was standing, his hands held to his chest. He looked upset.

"I'm sorry," Jeremy sighed, getting to his knees as he brought the android close into a hug. "I didn't mean to get so pissed off…"

BB was quiet before moving away. He looked worried now. He scampered off down the hall. Jeremy guessed he was going to visit Vixen.

It was about time he went to bed anyways.

Approaching his bedroom door, he quickly began to feel unease. Yesterday was his last shift with Dana and Mike. From here on out he was the regular day shift security guard. Today was the last day he would spend with his animatronics as well.

He took a step away from his bedroom door.

And went into the kitchen.

Frederick sat at the counter and gave Jeremy a knowing look; beside him was the bottle of Buttershots.

^xx..oo..xx^

Dana glanced to the sticky note on the stick shift beside her. She bit her bottom lip and pulled into the parking lot before the apartment complex. She looked to her in-car clock; it was about 11PM. She hoped that Mike didn't mind her picking him up so early before their shift officially started.

Earlier she had been rudely woken up by her grandmother telling her some weird guy who sounded drunk needed her to pick up someone named Michael. She knew that her grandmother had meant Mike, of course; she didn't understand why that woman was always so formal all the time.

Dana had found out that the caller was Jeremy, as she had to call him back because her grandmother had neglected to get an address, and had also learned that he was indeed drunk. And sobbing. He wouldn't give her any details as to what was wrong, but he said he was sorry more than a few times. Jeremy was such a weirdo… All she could piece together was that he wasn't going to be doing night shift with them anymore.

She tromped up some stairs and knocked on what she hoped was the right door. It was extremely hot; _today _had been extremely hot. She quickly pulled her hand away and put it in her mouth in an attempt to soothe the burning.

"Dana?"

She jumped at Mike's voice, quickly tearing her slobbered hand from her mouth.

"Oh, uh, hey… Mike… Um…" she started, blushing slightly in embarrassment. "I… Um… Did Jeremy call you?"

"No, he didn't," Mike grumbled, crossing his arms as he leaned in the doorway. "If he had, I wouldn't have answered anyway… The jerk… Can you believe him? Sticking us with _more _of those things; who does he think he is? Who does he think _we _are? There's no way we can handle more of them! What a traitor, I swear…."

"I was actually kind of excited…" Dana mumbled, glancing awkwardly to the side. "I think it'll be fun, y'know?"

"No, I don't know, Dana! You think it's fun to nearly die every night?" Mike shouted, his eyes wide with disbelief. "I thought you were smart! Or at least smarter than Jeremy at least! This job isn't some kind of game! Its not just going to be those four anymore, thanks to him we're going to have nine of them to look after!"

"Foxy doesn't look like he wants to hurt us…," Dana explained quietly. "I'm actually starting to get to like him… And after last night, maybe Bonnie and Chica are okay with us, too?"

Mike gave an exasperated laugh, shaking his head as he rubbed his forehead.

"Wow, Dana… _Wow_…" Mike sighed. He finally looked back up to her, biting his lower lip. He looked genuinely pissed off with her, but even if he was, he wasn't saying anything. It hurt her inside that she had made him so upset. That seemed to be all she was good at…

"So… Um… Jeremy didn't call you?" Dana squeaked out, trying not to make eye contact.

"No," Mike replied, his voice quiet.

"Well… Yesterday was his last night being with us on night shift," Dana began to explain. Mike cut her off by throwing his arms into the air and huffing aggravatedly.

"Of course it was; hang out with us the whole week and act like our friend, like he actually cares about us, and then ditch us with those murderous machines… Thank you so _much _Jeremy," Mike ranted, clenching his hands into fists. "The next time I see him I'm going to kill him… I'm going to frickin' kill him…"

"Well… Um… He… Wanted me to drive you to work," Dana mumbled. She hated seeing Mike so angry, especially at Jeremy. They were a big ring of friends, or… She had thought they were a big ring of friends.

She understood what Mike was getting at; he didn't like having to fight for his life against the animatronics, if you could call being helpless in the Office with only two doors being the difference between life and death fighting for your life. He felt Jeremy had led them on into a false security, and backstabbed them by adding more to the army of animatronics.

On the other hand, however, Dana found the aspect… Enticing. The adrenaline of seeing their faces in the doors and in the window, hearing Chica shuffle through the kitchen, Freddy laughing as he got into a new room… Bonnie seemingly teleporting to new areas… She loved it. She loved _them_. She didn't believe the animatronics were really out to kill them, they were just playing; something that they were deprived from during the day. Night shift was more than just checking the cameras and closing the doors, it was entertaining the entertainers.

_If Mike could see that… Maybe he wouldn't be so grouchy all the time?_

Dana smiled slightly at her own thoughts before looking to Mike.

"Well?" Mike asked, crossing his arms. He had an eyebrow raised at her.

"Well what?" Dana blushed again in embarrassment. She always had a habit of zoning out.

"Our shift doesn't start for another forty minutes; do you want to come inside?" Mike reiterated, rolling his eyes before gesturing his hands to usher her in.

"Oh! Sorry! Yes, I… Yeah, I'll come in," she replied, timidly walking into his small apartment.

^xx..oo..xx^

Dana and Mike hadn't set one foot into the restaurant before they had to stop and stare in an awkward silence at what the night had set before them. Mike was more or less stunned in disbelief, while Dana was attempting to withhold an outburst of laughter.

"Wee!" Bonnie shouted, riding the swivel chair down the hallway and into the Dining Area. The chair span rapidly and eventually sent the animatronic rabbit toppling into the tables, sending party hats and paper plates into the air and onto the floor.

"It's my turn, Bonnie!" Chica shouted, chasing after him with a glint of excitement in her eyes. "You've been on _f-f-forever_!"

"I just got on!" Bonnie huffed, shakily getting to his feet. He swiped the chair away from Chica and went running back towards the hall; as he was about to mount the chair once more, he froze as he finally noticed the two security guards.

"Gotcha!" Chica shouted, grabbing onto the chair. She cocked her head in confusion at Bonnie's sudden change in demeanor and followed to where he was looking at. "Oh! Uh…" she quickly dropped the chair and put her hands behind her back.

"We were just… Playing with this… We hope you don't mind!" Bonnie began to explain, setting the chair down on its three wheels. The back fell to the side; it was obviously broken.

Dana burst out into laughter while Mike grabbed her by the wrist and began to drag her into the Office. Bonnie and Chica followed after them, bringing along with them the broken chair. Inside, Mike slammed the door, locking the two animatronics out.

"At least he got Scott to fix that thing…" Mike sighed, grabbing the monitor.

"Oh, come on! You don't have to do that anymore!" Chica whined as she banged on the window. "We won't hurt you!"

"Come out and play with us!" Bonnie insisted, lifting the chair up. "I'll let you have a turn!"

"Just ignore them, Dana," Mike whispered to her. "They always do this…"

"I'm making you guys a pizza," Chica added, clasping her hands together excitedly. "To thank you… It sh-should be done soon! I wasn't sure what you guys liked, so I put everything we had on it!"

Dana couldn't help but to smile widely. She hadn't seen them act like this before, aside from her first day when Bonnie accidently thought she was a child. She went to open the door, but Mike quickly grabbed her and pulled her away. She gave him a confused look.

"I just told you not to listen to them!" He barked. "Here, you take the monitor, I'll man the doors."

"C'mon Mike, don't be such a spoilsport… They just want to play," Dana argued, accepting the monitor.

"Mister Buzzkill," Bonnie joined in his best attempt at a baby voice. "We're not going to hurt you!"

"Dana!" Mike huffed, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me: they are robots. They are _killing machines_. They will _lie _to you to get you to come out. The best you can do is ignore them. Trust me."

Dana cocked her head to the side and frowned at him. She looked out the window at Bonnie and Chica. They looked so happy and excited… But Mike looked so certain of himself it was… _scary_… She sighed and shrugged.

"Maybe another time, guys…" she mumbled, turning away from the door. She slumped upsetly into her corner.


End file.
